We are starting to hit the stretch of the campaign as we enter the top 20. With a couple of the safer picks rounding out the top 30, we have begun to enter the part of the list that caters to some high upside prospects. Compared to recent years there is a lot more upside, and a lot more tools that are definitely louder than years prior. There is also considerable capital associated with this particular section of the system with high international signing bonuses, as well as a pair of players drafted
within the first six rounds. A lot has been talked about how the system has a serious lack of depth and high upside talent but with progression from this group of players, the back end looks significantly stronger with a pair of potential top 100 players should everything work out.
25-30 | Honorable Mentions
24. Eric Hartman – 2B/OF
How he got to the Braves: 2024 20th round pick (611th overall)
It’s not very often you get value out of a final round draft pick in any sport – much less baseball. While he still has a ways to go, it appears as though the Braves may have gotten a steal when they selected Hartman out of Holy Trinity Academy out of Alberta, Canada in the 20th round of the 2024 draft.
A toolsy but very raw outfielder, the Braves sent Hartman to the FCL to begin his professional career, where he struggled to an OPS of .396 in a very limited sample size of six games. He then got the promotion to low-A Augusta where he turned things around in a significant way.
Across 83 games with the GreenJackets, the 19-year-old posted an OPS of .718 to go along with five homers and 41 RBI in the process – ultimately leading to a wRC+ of 109 for the season. Hartman has also show solid plate discipline for someone of his age and lower draft pedigree. In those 83 games, he posted a strikeout rate of 23.2% while walking in 10.6% of his at-bats.
The biggest issue for Hartman – like any prep position player early in their career – is his ability to handle breaking balls. However, as the season progressed, he showed an ability to adjust late in the count and choke up on the bat to at least attempt to handle breaking balls a bit better.
Augusta is likely to be Hartman’s home for the first portion of the season, but it wouldn’t take much to get the bump to Rome, as there really isn’t much talent standing in his way there. If he can figure out how to work counts deeper and handle the breaking stuff, the sky is the limit for Hartman.
23. Raudy Reyes – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2025 international free agent
Raudy was a late add, relative to the normal international cycle, for the Braves during last year’s signing period. Coming in at 6’4” with a fastball that reaches 100 MPH at the age of 16 – it’s easy to see why he was signed for a massive $1.8M signing bonus. Raudy, who is new to pitching, is a complete project so he comes in cautiously at 23 overall despite the high end potential. On the season Raudy ended up making 9 appearances in the Dominican Summer League pitching 27 innings and registering a 11.67 K/9, and 9.67 BB/9 with a 3.67 ERA. Overall, really strong numbers for someone his age and his experience. But diving beyond the numbers, the reports out of the Dominican were great. Raudy was comfortably sitting in the 96-99 MPH range through three to four innings. His slider, while wild, showed promise with its shape and movement. It’s safe to imagine that Raudy stays in the Dominican Summer League next year as he will be 17 for a majority of the season, with his eyes on a stateside debut in 2027. At this time he is a complete wildcard, making him wildly difficult to evaluate but the upside is more than enough to make him comfortably within the top 30.
22. Rayven Antonio – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2023 international free agent
One of the biggest surprises in the Braves system in 2025 was the emergence of Rayven Antonio. Antonio came into the year as an arm most hadn’t had any expectations for, but it was known that he initially signed for just a $10k signing bonus out of Colombia and despite a decent stat line in his first two years, he really struggled to miss bats. Antonio posted a 1.16 ERA in 31 innings in the DSL in 2023, but only had 22 strikeouts. In 2024 he posted a 4.05 ERA between the FCL and a few games in Augusta, but he struck out only 31 in 46.2 innings. Coming into the year the expectation was that he was going to be a ground ball machine who didn’t miss many bats, and might post solid numbers in the lowest level of full season ball. Fast forward and Antonio was actually the ace of the Augusta rotation, continuing to rack up grounders, but also striking out 95 batters over 93.1 innings with his 4.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP – numbers that would have looked even better if not for seeming to tire out at the tail end of the year thanks to blowing past his career high in innings. Antonio is still just 19 until March and expected to join Rome this year, and is now considered to be a legitimate prospect after his velocity increased last year. He now gets up to 98 MPH with his four seam fastball and also has a strong sinker, to go with a slider that has a chance to be a plus pitch, and a splitter that should be an average off speed pitch for him. Antonio is mostly a strike thrower, though he will need to continue to refine his command and continue to progress with his slider. He’s still a teenager, but one with the package to be a big league starter, and has had success at every stop so far. He is a potential middle of the rotation starter if everything comes together, but is more likely a potential quality #4 type of starter.
21. Jose Perdomo – SS
How he got to the Braves: 2024 international free agent
The big bonus signing out of Venezuela in 2024 has had a….rough….start to his professional career so far with the Braves. After having insane comps to Miguel Cabrera leading to fans everywhere to eagerly await his professional debut, Jose picked up an early knock as he suffered from a lingering hamstring injury that hampered him for nearly the entire year. He would play in just 8 games and hit a paltry .250/.318/.250 and leave fans and scouts wanting more. 2025 was supposed to be the year for Jose as he appeared to be fully healthy and the Braves brought him over stateside to compete in the FCL and work with coaches over here. Unfortunately, the results simply were not there as Jose would appear in 54 games and would hit just .223/.275/.270 with a walk rate sitting at just 6%. These are not exactly numbers that instill confidence in people, especially when you add in the fact that he had a soft tissue injury at the age of 17 that kept him out. In talking with scouts that were able to see him more readily, Jose had issues with his lower half and posture that would creep up during at bats. These issues would lead to some of the inconsistencies that plagued him throughout the season. The good is that these things are fixable, and there’s still no denying the talent that he has but it is imperative that his attitude and ethic continue to improve as he enters his second full season of professional baseball. The batted ball data is still there, as he had multiple hits over 100 MPH, including a 103 MPH single back on the 19th of July when he went 5-for-6 so there is still plenty of hope. Add in the fact that he will be just 19 for the entire season and there’s really no reason to give up any kind of hope for Jose. But one thing for certain is that he must show improvement in every facet. There is hope that he makes his Augusta debut this year but it wouldn’t be surprising if he started the season back in Florida, either.
20. Herick Hernandez – LHP
How he got to the Braves: 2024 4th round pick (129th overall)
Herick had one of the most puzzling seasons amongst all Braves prospects. Herick mystified hitters, giving up more than five hits in just one game last year. He struck out batters to the tune of an 11.06 K/9 rate, but then his command could implode, highlighted by his 5.92 BB/9 rate. He attacked batters with his slider to get ahead of counts and to generate whiffs. He would combo that with a fastball that ranged from 91-97, that he located often in the upper third. Herick also featured a solid curveball, and a splitter that would also look good at times. We often talked about Cam Caminiti’s ability to generate whiffs seen by his 13.6% SwStr% (% of strikes that were swung on and missed), but Herick eclipsed him with an even stronger 14.1%. With a good four pitch mix there’s every reason for Herick to stay a starter, especially since he’s capable of handling the workload of a full season already. However, with the command struggles there could also be a future where he focuses on his fastball/slider combo and excels as a reliever. Whichever route he ends up taking, there will be a lot of eyes on Herick Hernandez after he showed us all what he’s capable of last year.
19. Lucas Braun – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2023 6th round draft pick (189th overall)
Lucas Braun quietly had a strong year – registering a 3.67 ERA across two levels (24 games in AA, 3 games in AAA). In his 24 starts for the Columbus Clingstones he had 3.99 ERA, 9.23 K/9, and 2.41 BB/9 rate. The anemic Clingstones offense did not help him much so he went just 5-5 despite those numbers. Lucas would then get promoted to Gwinnett to finish out the season and while the strikeout rate dropped to 5.21, the walk rate stayed strong, dropping on its own to 1.89 per 9. He did this by utilizing six pitches – a four seam fastball (90-93 MPH), two seam fastball (89-91 MPH), cutter (85-87 MPH), slider (81-84 MH), curveball (76-79 MPH), and a changeup. He showed the mental fortitude you want to see with starting pitchers by comfortably leaning on whatever pitches worked best for him that day – often his 4S, 2S, and slider. He had success both against righties (.229/.278/.375), and lefties (.205/.270/.343) and limited hard contact quite well.
Lucas will be 24 for most of the 2026 season and has already ticked a lot of the boxes you want to see starting pitching prospects do. Whether he’s called up to Atlanta, or is used in a trade, if he replicates the kind of year he had in 2025 he should find himself in Major League Baseball sooner than later.
