Original Published Date: April 11, 2014

Updated: June 9, 2014

The Braves are one of the youngest teams in the Major Leagues leaving their upper minor leagues a little light in impact major league ready talent.  In late May, mercifully Dan Uggla was benched and the Braves promoted Tommy La Stella.  La Stella is a contact hitter with little power and speed, but Braves fans will take that over the 60% contact rate of Uggla.  J.R. Graham suffered a shoulder injury last year but has started the year off strong and could provide impact as a starter or in the pen in the second half.

1. Next in Line Infield Prospects

• Tommy La Stella (2B, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low – PROMOTED: 5/28/14
  
• Edward Salcedo (3B, Tripe-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium
• Christian Betancourt (C, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium

Notes: While Braves fans will be happy with anybody manning second base but Dan Uggla, fantasy owners might simply shrug their shoulders as La Stella is mostly a batting average guy with an occasional home run or stolen base.  Edward Salcedo has higher fantasy upside than La Stella but is not on the 40-man roster and some additional changes would have to take place if he is to be promoted.  His upside is a 20/20 bat with a low batting average.  Finally, at some point you have to believe that the Braves will determine that catching does matter and promote Betancourt to be their primary backstop.  While that might not happen until 2015, I expect him to make an appearance in Atlanta in the second half of 2014.  While his fantasy upside is not huge, he should be ownable in NL-Only and two-catcher deeper formats.

2. Next in Line Outfield Prospects

• Joey Terdoslavich (OF, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium

Notes: Joey Terdoslavich is not a great defender and has moved to the right field to accelerate his move to big leagues.  His calling card is above average power from the left-side.  He also makes good contact and can work a count.

3. Next in Line Pitching Prospects

• Gavin Floyd (RHP, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium – PROMOTED: 05/06/14
  
• J.R. Graham (RHP, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: High

Notes: J.R. Graham missed two-thirds of the 2013 season with a shoulder issue but pitched well in his first start of the year in Double-A.  He has a fastball that works in the mid-90’s with a lot of sinking action but in short bursts, the fastball can hit 7’s and 8’s prompting some to speculate his eventual role will be in the pen.

4. Next in Line Relief Prospects

• Ryan Buchter (LHP, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low
• J.R. Graham (RHP, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: High