Between the promotions of young players and the frequent trades to upgrade the major league roster, the farm system of the Atlanta Braves is widely considered to have fallen into the bottom third in baseball as far as quality and quantity.

But here at Braves Today, we’re bullish on both Atlanta’s talent in the minor leagues and the organization’s reputation and track record of developing that talent.

Here’s where we’d rank the top prospects in the farm system prior to the 2024 season.

(Criteria used for prospect eligibility is: less than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 days on the MLB roster)

Scouting report: Waldrep, our number one prospect and an invitee to major league spring training, has a more defined arsenal at the moment than Smith-Shawver and probably the best non-fastball in the system in his splitter, giving him the top spot at the moment.

Waldrep does a good job to utilize his fastball up in the zone, which averages 95 and could probably touch triple digits early this year. The pitch has only average riding life and little horizontal movement, so establishing his secondaries will be key to keep hitters from teeing off on it. But the secondaries are led by a hellacious splitter, thrown in the mid-to-upper 80s from the same release point and tunnel as the fastball before absolutely falling of the table late. Waldrep also throws a vertical breaking curveball and a mostly horizontal slider with some late drop, giving himself a versatile four pitch mix in multiple velocity bands.