#Atlanta Braves

#Atlanta Braves

Hartman was selected with Atlanta's 20th round pick in the 2024 draft, using the 611th overall selection on the outfielder from Holy Trinity Academy out of Alberta, Canada. He was given a signing bonus $337,500, which was understandably significantly higher than his slot value. What were the expectations in 2025? When it was announced the Braves had actually signed all 20 selections in their 2024 class - including Hartman - it came as a bit of a surprise.

Thursday was a busy night around the league, and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. joined in on the fun, taking home the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. After returning from a major ACL injury, Acuña got back in the swing of things pretty quickly. He ended 2025 with a .290 batting average, cranking 21 home runs and even stealing nine bases.

This is due to a fairly new rule change to the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, to incentivize teams to promote their talented young players in order to prevent them from keeping them in the minor leagues for six weeks to extend their service time. This rule, called the Prospect Promotion Incentive, is given to players who are Top 100 prospects that make the Opening Day roster.

Baldwin was the only player named on all 30 ballots that were cast. He received 21 first-place votes and nine for second place, totaling 183 points. That was good for a finish ahead of Chicago Cubs rookie Cade Horton, who garnered nine first-place votes, 16 second place and four for third place, amounting to 139 points. Baldwin became the seventh catcher to ever win Rookie of the Year and the second for the Braves. Baldwin joined Earl Williams in Braves franchise history as catchers to win the award.

The Atlanta Braves seem primed to add long-time Minnesota Twins coach Tommy Watkins to their coaching staff per multiple reports. Dan Hayes of the Athletic was first to report the news earlier this afternoon. As Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic noted, Watkins had been with the Twins for 27 years. Reporting on the Braves side indicated that Watkins' role with the Braves is not yet known, with the Athletic's David O'Brien suggesting it could be a 3rd base coach or major league coach role.

There is one choice that appears to be a no-brainer and that's the decision to decline an $8 million team option for INF/P David Fletcher. Again, this was a no-brainer. David Fletcher only made five appearances for the Braves at the major league level back in 2024 and spent the entirety of the 2025 season in Atlanta's farm system, as he spent the vast majority of his time with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers while also playing for the Double-A Columbus Clingstones for a spell.

Kinley will receive a $750K buyout and head into free agency rather than collecting a $5.5MM salary for the 2026 season. The move to decline Kinley's option is something of a surprise. The right-hander pitched to a 3.96 ERA with a 3.69 FIP in 72 2/3 innings of work overall in 2025, but those solid yet unspectacular overall results don't tell the whole story.

The Braves picked up Carrasco from the New York Yankees prior to the Trade Deadline on July 28. He'd signed with the Yankees as a minor league free agent prior to the season and had spent time on the big league roster before being designated for assignment by New York in June. He returned to the Yankees organization, pitching at Triple-A, prior to his trade to Atlanta.

In his final season with Charlotte, McCabe swatted 16 homers to go along with an OPS of 1.297. What were the expectations for 2025? Coming into 2025, the main focus for McCabe boiled down to two things: staying healthy, and simply getting back into the swing of things. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in February 2024, McCabe was only able to suit up for 35 games with Mississippi, posting an abysmal slash line of .137/.284/.214 in 117 at-bats.