And just like that….we find ourselves at the end. After a rather fun week where we got to profile a lot of new intriguing players in the organization, we turn our focus to the top of the list. Players that come with the shine of being high round draft picks, big bonus international prospects, and the absolute steal that is Didier Fuentes. It’s been a really fun week rolling this out, and we genuinely look forward to connecting with you all this evening at 7 for our Q&A.
12-7 | 18-13 | 19-24 | 25-30
| Honorable Mentions
6. Tate Southisene – SS
How he got to the Braves: 2025 1st round pick (22nd overall)
The Braves took Tate Southisene in the first round this year out of his Las Vegas high school. The 5’11, 180-pound infielder is the brother of 2024 Cubs fourth rounder Ty – and they have a bunch of similarities – but is considered a stronger prospect because he has more power in his game. Tate is a player who is considered to be average or above with all five tools, with his speed being his only true plus tool. He is a potentially above average hitter with a good approach and feel for hitting, and his average power can play up because of that. He’s an average defender with an average arm who will get a real shot to stick at short, but is athletic enough that some teams liked him as a center fielder going into the draft. In 66 plate appearances after signing with Augusta he hit .219/.242/.297 with a walk to 27 strikeouts – though it is a very small sample after making the jump from high school. Tate should be able to adjust after what he showed during his amateur career and MLB Draft Combine, but will likely need the whole year in Augusta in 2026. He is probably a full three years away from making a big league impact, but has the tools to develop into a solid every day shortstop for the Braves.
5. Diego Tornes – OF
How he got to the Braves: 2025 international free agent
The Braves have been searching for an elite position player prospect on the international side now, and reports currently favor Diego Tornes as the clear best of the bunch in the post-sanction era. After the disappointing returns on Luis Guanipa and Jose Perdomo there was a lot of hesitance in raving over Tornes after he received a $2,500,000 signing bonus out of Cuba last January, but he went to the Dominican Summer League and posted a performance that impressed both from a traditional and metrically-inclined perspective. Tornes has elite bat speed and produces eye-popping exit velocities, regularly clearing the 110 mph mark. He has the potential to anchor a lineup with his power potential, and he is able to generate his power and contact without an overly elaborate swing. This gives evaluators a belief he can be an average or better hitter as well, though high now his contact rates and in-game production trail a bit behind the eye test.
Concerns have been raised about his ability to maintain his speed into maturity and the likelihood he will have to move out of center field, though he has the offensive profile to project nicely into a corner if it comes to that. Tornes should get an opportunity to come stateside in 2026, giving us a better opportunity to see him against competent pitching and a larger sample size to work with. Tornes missed nearly 40% of his games last season. Tornes is the highest ceiling offensive talent in the system and could be the next elite hitting prospect, a profile which gives him huge helium in the ranking. Yet, he is also highly volatile (as is any 17 year old) and hasn’t proven himself against legitimate competition yet. Tornes’s profile will likely change significantly over the next calendar year, and he is arguably the most exciting player to anticipate going into 2026.
4. Owen Murphy – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2022 1st round pick (20th overall)
The 2025 campaign for Owen Murphy could have simply been about getting him back on the mound. Recovering from Tommy John surgery, simply seeing Murphy back in action would have been a good enough win across the board.
What ensued for the 22-year-old, however, exceeded even the greatest expectations as he reminded everyone why the Braves took him with their first round selection back in 2022.
Murphy finally made his season debut on Aug. 2, tossing 3.1 innings is masterful ball in which he struck out eight batters and scattered just two hits. From that point forward, Murphy proceeded to dominate the competition as he got back into a familiar groove after being out of action for more than a year.
In six starts for Rome, Murphy posted a dominant 1.32 ERA across 27.1 innings pitched. He also managed to strike out 26 batters and only walked six over the course of his outings while opposing hitters batted just .161 against him.
Sure, it may have been a relatively small sample size of only six games, but the simple fact that Murphy seemed to return with little to no hiccups after his lengthy absence is very encouraging for one of Atlanta’s top arms.
There’s no reason to rush Murphy, so there’s a strong likelihood he returns back to Rome for a few starts to make sure he’s in physically good shape before giving him the bump to Columbus for his first taste of double-A ball. Unlike other arms in the minors, there’s a legitimate chance we could see Murphy in Atlanta some time this season — depending on injuries and his individual performance.
If he doesn’t make it to the big leagues this year, all eyes will be on him competing for a backend rotation spot in 2027 right out of the gate.
3. Didier Fuentes – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2022 international free agent
Didier Fuentes had an incredible 2024 season, and he bankrolled his second-half momentum into a dominant 2025 that saw him blaze through the system in a fashion typical of top pitching prospects for the Braves. With that came the same pitfalls faced by many pitching prospects before him, as Fuentes made four major league starts and never looked ready for that stage with a 9.14 FIP over 13 innings. Fuentes struggled a bit to transition back to Triple-A after this disappointing stretch, but finished with two incredible outings at the end of the season totalling 11 innings with one run and two walks allowed while striking out 16 batters. Fuentes will be 20 still for much of the 2026 season, and will likely get a second shot to make a major league impact throughout the season. Fuentes operates with a fastball that sits in the mid-90’s with a low release point and average carry that is able to produce high whiff rates. He pairs that with a sweeper that projects to be below average, and he is working to develop a curveball and spliiter.
Fuentes showed potential for an average splitter throughout the 2025 season, but struggled with the shape and consistency of the pitch which made it difficult for him to rely on in games and got him hit hard. For Fuentes to stick as a starter the development of that pitch is key, as his fastball, command, and slider are already MLB-ready. Without the splitter it was difficult for him to approach major league hitters, who were able to key in on and exploit his high fastball usage and hit him hard especially late into outings. Fuentes has the athletic traits to develop plus command and continue to improve his splitter while potentially adding other pitches, but he is currently just a hair off from being a major league starter. For Fuentes, he is either going to drop significantly by midseason or graduate entirely, as if he shows the sort of success that will get him bumped up he is almost certain to earn a permanent major league spot.
2. JR Ritchie – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2022 CB-A pick (35th overall)
Coming off of Tommy John surgery JR Ritchie finished out with a solid series of starts to end 2024, but he raised significant questions when he showed well-below average velocity and struggled to snap off his sliders as well as he had prior to his surgery. When Ritchie showed upper-90’s velocity in his spring breakout performance that question immediately became secondary, and though his velocity did dip with regular work it was still higher and more consistent than it ever was prior to his surgery. His slider was still a tick below where it was at its best, and that may have hurt him later in the season when he struggled to find a consistent whiff pitch at the Triple-A level, but it looked solid and was paired with a much-improved changeup. His changeup was his best pitch at times in 2025, and his overall command and raw stuff improved over even where he was prior to surgery. Still, he had some trouble with inconsistency and walked too many batters, though many believe with more reps he has the athleticism to grow into above average command.
The Braves made changes to Ritchie’s delivery which gave him more carry on his fastball, improving its results, and with that he was able to diversify his arsenal by adding a sinker, a cutter, and a curveball. Right now his arsenal is a bit quantity over quality as none of his pitches has emerged as a clear plus offering, though his ability to command six pitches and force weak contact gives him a high floor. Ritchie has no glaring holes in his game at the moment and is more in a state of needing seasoning across the board. His cutter in particular showed significant improvement throughout the season, and if he can see a bump from his slider or changeup, he could settle in as a mid-rotation starter this upcoming season. A true step forward from his slider and the consistency of his fastball velocity could even push that ceiling higher, but in any case Ritchie is on the right path to being a major league starter in the immediate future.
1. Cam Caminiti – LHP
How he got to the Braves: 2024 1st round pick (24th overall)
Cam Caminiti was selected with the 24th pick of the 2024 MLB Draft and signed to an overslot bonus after many expected him to end up being a Top 10 pick. His first year got off to a late start thanks to a minor injury early in his spring, but he was excellent after making his first four decent rehab starts in the FCL. Over his 13 starts with Augusta he went 2-3 with a 2.08 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 75 strikeouts to 26 walks in 56.1 innings. Those numbers are especially impressive considering he didn’t turn 19 until August, as he was initially set to be a member of the 2025 MLB Draft, before a reclassification into the 2024 crop. Caminiti has a plus fastball that has previously touched as high as 98 MPH, a slider and change that can get swings and misses but will need to continue improving each, and an average curve. He will also be adding a cutter for this year and has solid command at present despite spending his prep career as a legit two-way prospect. He is expected to start the season in Rome, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he reached Double-A this year. The ceiling if he has everything come together is a top of the rotation arm, but he still has middle of the rotation potential even if he doesn’t max out.
