Under the Radar Prospects: Braves

The Atlanta Braves are the subjects of this week's installment of under the radar prospects

The Atlanta Braves are a baseball powerhouse that contends for a World Series annually. They’re able to do this, in part, thanks to outstanding scouting that nets some of the games most valuable players — not just star players such as Ronald Acuna Jr., but players that continue to contribute to winning at the big league level. Below are five more players who could help the Atlanta Braves continue their prolific success in the near to distant future.

Ignacio Alvarez, SS/3B - Atlanta Braves

Ignacio Alvarez does a lot of things right. He has solid contact skills that helped him to hit .284 this past season while also keeping his strikeouts at a respectable clip (17.4%). He doesn’t hit for a ton of power, but did manage secent home runs and 24 doubles over 501 plate appearances. Alavrez also finds ways to get on base, finishing with a .395 on-base percentage that was supported by a healthy 13.2 BB%. All of this led to a 123 wRC+; an excellent season for a prospect whose best tools seem to be his defensive ones.

Alvarez managed his impressive season, despite being a 20-year-old aggressively assigned to High-A. Sometimes compared to Silver Slugger Yandy Diaz, Alvarez has the muscle to hit for higher power, but hasn’t been able to adapt it to his swing as of yet. Regardless, his 2023 season did not go unnoticed as Baseball America tabbed him as the Braves 8th best prospect entering the 2024 season (jumping up from 15th prior to the season).

His positional home has been a question, but Alvarez’s future seems to lie in the hot corner where his above-average arm strength should make him an asset defensively. He’ll turn 21 in April and likely start the year in Double-A.

Jeremy Celedonio, OF - Atlanta Braves

Thanks to the pandemic and nagging injuries after making his pro debut at 17 years old in 2019, Jeremy Celedonio had only been able to play in a total of 15 games from 2020 through the end of 2022. What was evident over those 15 games, was that Celedonio possessed massive power and an excellent ability to draw walks, but strikes out way too much.