Braves Have a New Top Prospect in Post-Draft Rankings

The Atlanta Braves farm system may finally have a bit more balance.

After years of being dominated by pitching, there is increasing respect being given to some of the big bats and slick defenders in the farm system.

The prospet evaluators over at MLB Pipeline recently re-ranked all 30 MLB team farm systems , as well as updating their Top 100 . While the Braves do not have any top 100 prospects on the new list, they do have some new faces rising up in their Top 30 prospect rankings.

2024 1st-round pick Cam Caminiti, a prep pitcher out of Arizona, is the new organizational number one prospect. He is joined in the top five by some new faces, with shortstop Nacho Alvarez Jr. ascending to number four on the list and catcher Drake Baldwin at number five. AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep maintain their top five status, but each move down a spot to accomodate the ascention of Caminiti to the top position.

None of Atlanta's prospects ranked in the new Top 100, a surprising development.

Here's what MLB Pipeline said about Caminiti, who surprisingly fell to Atlanta at pick number 24:

A cousin of Ken Caminiti, Cam was thought to be one of the best players in the 2025 Draft class when he reclassified for 2024. That made him one of the youngest players in the class, only 17 years old at the time of the Draft. A solid two-way player who could be a prospect as a hitter, he separated himself on the mound with strong performances on the summer showcase circuit and continued his dominant performances back home in Arizona this spring. He was the highest-ranked high school arm in the class, and many thought he would go in the middle of the first round. But the Braves were thrilled when they were able to take him at No. 24 overall and sign him with a full-slot bonus of $3.56 million.

Caminiti has the potential to have four legitimate pitches in the future, with projection to all of them. He already throws plenty hard, with a fastball that can touch 98 mph and sat 93-95 this spring, and scouts feel there’s more in the tank. He commands it well and it misses a lot of bats thanks to ride and carry up in the zone, combined with deception in his delivery. He can show a distinct curve and slider, though both can get loose because of inconsistent finish, and among scouts there is a bit of a split camp over which is the better offering. But this spring he answered a lot of concerns about his feel to spin. He hadn’t used his changeup much at all prior to this year, but it became a real go-to pitch for him, giving him another at least above-average offering.

The athleticism Caminiti showed when he played center field helps him on the mound, and there’s confidence as he matures he’ll be able to use his repeatable delivery and be a consistent strike-thrower with every chance to be a big league starter.

Caminiti, despite being a prep pitcher, signed for the slot value of $3.56M versus requiring the expected overslot deal to forgo his college commitment and join the organization.

New additions to the organization's top five incluced Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Drake Baldwin. Alvarez spent a few weeks in the majors this season, serving as the primary injury replacement for second baseman Ozzie Albies (broken wrist) until free agent signing Whit Merrifield was healed from his finger injury and able to resume defensive duties. Baldwin, a catcher who represented the team at the 2024 Futures Game and homered in the game, is batting .288 with a .888 in 41 career games for Triple-A Gwinnett.

Alvarez is assumed to be bound for a spring training competition with incumbent shortstop Orlando Arcia for the starting job next season, while Baldwin could compete with Chadwick Tromp for the backup catcher job behind Sean Murphy if veteran Travis d'Arnaud's club option is not picked up for his age 36 season.