State of the position: Outfield

The Atlanta Braves have an obvious plan for their outfield, and it's just holding the course with the veterans already on the MLB roster

Sometimes, it really is that simple.

In previous iterations of this article, we’ve discussed what needs to happen for the Atlanta Braves to have an MLB-quality starter or shortstop or how they’re reliant on no injuries hitting the infield corners.

But for the outfield, there’s a simple three-year plan here that is obvious to understand. It’s after that where things get murky.

The Braves have three long-term starters

Barring injuries, for the next three seasons your starters in the outfield (L-to-R) will be Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuña Jr. If anyone misses time, Jarred Kelenic will be available to step in as potentially the best 4th outfielder in the league.

It’s not a very expensive outfield, either - in the final year of control for all three players, they’ll cost a combined $41M¹. By contrast, Juan Soto by himself will cost the New York Mets $57.5M.

While there are some cons to this plan - Profar’s aging curve hitting early and Acuña either dealing with additional injuries or having those repeated injuries reduce his capabilities - it’s still one of the best outfields in the division, if not all of baseball.

And Kelenic, despite his offensive struggles as a full-time player in 2024, looks more comfortable at the plate this spring after spending time over the offseason with new hitting coach Tim Hyers.

But it’s after 2027, when Profar and depth option Bryan De La Cruz both hit free agency, that several questions come up as to the future configuration of the outfield.

Kelenic and Acuña will both be in their final years

The unfortunate timing of the team’s contracts means that Kelenic’s final year of arbitration corresponds with Acuña’s final club option year.

And that could be a problem. While Harris is locked up through 2032, should Atlanta pick up both of his club options, both Kelenic and Acuña can become free agents after 2028.

And as of now, there’s no one in the minor league system that projects to be the next starting outfielder for the Atlanta Braves. Sure there’s guys who could become that - Luis Guanipa is the highest-rated outfielder in our Braves Prospect Composite with four top-ten spots and an additional 12th-place ranking - but it’s not a slam dunk.

With the caveat that this is a problem for three or four years from now, let’s look at some of the depth options in the system and figure out what they need to do to earn a MLB spot.

A lot of questionable hit tools out there

Let’s look at Guanipa, because he’s a great example of the problem here.

He hit just .194 in Single-A Augusta last season, striking out almost once per game and with only two extra-base hits. Not great numbers…but it was just 32 games and 136 plate appearances in his age-18 season. Not a statistical valid sample, at all.

Isaiah Drake’s in the same boat. The uber-athletic prep outfielder struggled in his first taste of full-season ball last season, hitting just .163 in a 69 game/282 PA sample in Augusta….but he also dealt with injury, going on the injured list twice during the season. He showed promise with the speed (23 stolen bases) and decent walk rate, but struggled to make solid contact and drive the ball.

Both of these guys need more time, but they’re also teenage lottery picks at best.

And that’s the story of this system. There’s plenty of lower-level hitters that we just...don’t know enough about to predict whether or not they’ll be able to make it to the majors one day. I mentioned Guanipa and Drake, but I could have also mentioned Junior Garcia, Carlos Monteverde, Douglas Glod, Jace Grady, and 2024 draft picks Patrick Clohisy (11th round) & Titus Dumitru (16th round). None of those guys have been past High-A Rome, with several of them not getting past either Single-A or the Complex last year.

But there’s another option here - converting an infielder to the grass.

Any upcoming position changes?

My rule of thumb is to look at who spent more time at second base than shortstop - that might be a sign that their defense is worse than average and potentially a move to the outfield is in their future.

Colby Jones and Yolbert Sánchez fit this description, as both spent more time on the first base side of the bag last year. While Sánchez isn’t a prospect anymore - he’s 27 years old and on his second major league organization - Jones is worth a look here. A Juco Bandit (Northwest Florida State College) taken in 2024’s 13th round, he has a good arm but is seen as more of a "‘gamer/hustle’ profile versus a tooled-up monster.²

And that’s exactly the type of guy that could potentially move and add some versatility to his game.

The caveat here, as it was with a lot of players from the last section, is a lack of a track record. Jones got in 28 games after the draft, mostly in Augusta but advancing all the way to Double-A Mississippi for the final game of the season. His .227 average was buoyed by a 20-game sample of .281 hitting in Augusta, so 205 is going to be critical for Jones to show he can stick on the dirt or start displaying the positional versatility.

Final verdict

This is a tough position to evaluate. At the MLB level, this could be one of the best outfields in all of baseball. In the minors, we’re almost at the point where there’s no one of note unless someone breaks out this year or the team uses a high pick on a promising hitter.

But at the same time, a lot can change in four years. Let’s not stress about this.

1. Plus whatever Jarred Kelenic costs in his final season of arbitration

2. I found a scouting writeup from high school that talked about him playing second base for his prep squad, so he’s likely never been the top shortstop on his roster.