🎶It’s the most wonderful time of the year.🎶
The shenanigans of eternal January are finally over and we enter the month of February with hope in the air as players begin to gather in Florida with Spring Training just around the corner. Yesterday we saw who just missed the top 30 list: a wide range of talent with a lot of promise. We’ve seen the Braves break away from the pitching-dominant drafts of just a few years ago and shift toward adding much-needed talent to the positional ranks. As a result, while the top of the list was quite simple, we saw a much wider range of rankings – so without further ado, let’s take a look at our Top 30. Be sure to leave comments, but the minor league crew will also be hosting a Q&A later this Friday.
30. Drue Hackenberg-RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2023, 2nd round pick (59th overall)
At one point, Hackenburg looked like he could be a legitimate future piece for Atlanta in some capacity. Drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft, Hackenburg immediately produced and showed great results in his first full professional season in 2024.
With more than 25 starts and 129 innings pitched, Hackenburg rose from low-A Augusta to triple-A Gwinnett in the course of one season. During that stretch, he posted a 3.07 ERA, which led to him being a top 20 Braves prospect on most lists in early 2025.
However, that all went wrong in 2025, when Hackenburg’s numbers took a terrible turn.
Although he was injured quite often in 2025, things weren’t great for the right-hander when he was on the mound. In 21 starts consisting of 74 innings, Hackenburg struggled mightily to a 6.81 ERA, striking out 67 batters with a brutal WHIP of 1.82. Hackenburg was not beaten by hitters in the long ball department, as he gave up only nine home runs over the course of the season. However, he was hit fairly consistently, as opposing hitters have a .279 average on the season – a stark contrast to his organization-leading .212 mark in 2024. Add to that the fact that he walked 54 batters in his 74 innings of work, and it’s not exactly a surprise that the season went the way it did.
The book is not closed on Hackenburg by any stretch of the imagination. There are a plethora of reasons why you could call one bad season, whether it’s injuries, inconsistent times on the IL and playing, etc. There’s still a decent chance he can right the ship and become a solid bullpen piece or a fringe rotation guy at the big league level. However, he will have to show that he can put the past year behind him and bounce back quickly, otherwise his potential stock will take another huge dive.
How he got to the Braves: 2024, 2nd round pick (62nd overall)
Carter Holton, a three-year starter at Vanderbilt, is near the back of the list as he was shut down after one appearance in 2024 and underwent Tommy John surgery. At 5’11”, Carter doesn’t have the prototypical size for a starting pitcher, which adds risk to his profile, add to that the fact that he also just underwent surgery and…well, it’s safe to say we don’t know what to really expect from Carter. Carter has a four-pitch mix led by three offerings of average to plus off speed – a plus slider, and an average to slightly above average curveball and changeup. After only one game played, it’s safe to assume he’ll start the season at Augusta, but at 23, expect a quick promotion if he succeeds. That said, there aren’t high expectations for Carter entering the season as the main goal will be to stay healthy and get used to being on the mound again.
How he joined the Braves: 2022 Undrafted Free Agent
There’s no way to do this – Hayden Harris had one of the most dominant seasons a Braves prospect has ever had last year. Over 43 games, Hayden recorded a 0.52 ERA, a 13.67 K/9 rate and a 3.29 BB/9 rate. He absolutely stunned hitters, as evidenced by his paltry .118 batting average. Hayden was able to utilize his unique fastball in the upper third extremely well, generating strong notes against a pitch that comes in at 90-92 MPH. We knew about his dynamite splitter dropping out of the zone, but last year saw Hayden locate his sweeper much better on both sides of the plate, making at-bats against him even more difficult. All of this resulted in Hayden being named an All-MiLB first teamer and being named to the MLB Futures game. As long as that sweeper command continues, expect Hayden to continue putting up extremely strong strikeout numbers – numbers that could stack up in Atlanta.
How he got to the Braves: 2023 second-round compensatory pick (70th overall)
Perhaps no player is anticipating the start of the season more than Cade Kuehler, who sat out the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His ranking this season comes as pure projection, as no one knows exactly what to expect from the former Campbell standout. Cade has a strong fastball and slider to go with what we’ll call a developing splitter. Cade will be 24 for most of the season, so while health is the most important thing for him this season, he also needs to show improvement with his fielding mix, which looked like it was in decline in 2024 (which definitely could have been due to the injury). Signed for over $1 million, Cade has every opportunity to start as a starter, but if the splitter doesn’t develop, there’s a chance he could become a fast-moving reliever.
How he got to the Braves: 2025 4th round compensatory pick (136th overall)
The Braves drafted Dixon Williams in the fourth round out of East Carolina based on the strength of his bat and the growth potential of a player who didn’t begin focusing on baseball full-time until college. Williams is a high-end athlete with a football background who has shown growth every year throughout his college years. He went from just 15 plate appearances as a freshman to an .896 OPS as a sophomore, followed by a breakthrough win winning the New England Collegiate League MVP that summer, followed by a 1.012 OPS during his draft season with career highs in both home runs and walks. After signing, he headed to Augusta, where he hit .269/.395/.462 with a pair of home runs and 16 walks to 35 strikeouts over his 114 plate appearances. Williams is a four-tool prospect, lacking only arm strength, with enough versatility to play any spot in the infield, and even some time in center field in college, who probably projects best long-term at second base. He’ll need some time to further refine his hitting tool and his defense, which is to be expected for a player newer to full-time baseball who hasn’t played one position consistently in college – but he has the tools ready to develop into the Braves’ next starter at second base as we start to see his power emerge. He will likely open in Rome this year, but could have a chance to make it to Columbus with a good start to his season.
How he got to the Braves: 2024, 6th round pick (191st overall)
There may not be another prospect as excited about 2026 as Ethan, who is looking to make a name for himself in the Braves farm system this year. Fully healthy, Ethan is 6 feet tall and extremely muscular at over 230 pounds – a specimen on the mound. Working in the low to mid 90’s, Ethan seemed to incorporate a two-seam into his repertoire. Ethan features a dynamic slider and evolving changeup to round out a very impressive arsenal that leaves a lot to enjoy. While the whiffs weren’t there last season, resulting in a raw strikeout rate (6.86 K/9), Ethan was hitting groundballs at a high rate (47.5%) and was able to keep the walk rate down (2.9 BB/9). Ethan certainly looks like a starting pitcher, and should his two-seam, change-up rookie continue to develop, there will be a lot more people talking about him.
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