Taking a look at some of the Braves prospects who have helped their stock with their performances so far in 2025.
With the month of May set to come to a close, we are now two months into the minor league season for the Atlanta Braves farm system. With that in mind it’s time to start to consider some of the prospects who have helped to raise their stock with their play so far this season.
This article will take a look at some of the lesser known names in the system, so a guy like JR Ritchie will not be featured – as he was already a top prospect in the system before the season began. It will not account for anything we’ve seen in the FCL either, as that team has played just 11 games and it’s too soon to draw any conclusions from that sample size.
Ethan Workinger, OF, Columbus
Ethan Workinger is a 23-year-old former undrafted free agent who has posted OPS marks of .746, .739, and .723 over the past three seasons with a total of 30 career games played in Double-A. He had the look of an organizational depth player, but after some changes in the offseason he has seen his stock rise in arguably the most surprising way of any hitter in the Braves system. Through 31 games he is off to a career-best .252/.331/.548 slash line with seven doubles and nine homers – already just three homers away from matching his previous career high in 2023 and 2024.
It’s hard to say a ton about him re-inventing his prospect status after just 131 plate appearances, but with the added in-game power he is a guy who has put himself at least on the radar to watch. At this point he still feels like a lower end prospect who could end up getting a shot in Atlanta at some point, but if he can continue to hit like this just maybe he could end up being a little more.
Titus Dumitru, OF, Rome
Titus Dumitru was the Braves 16th round pick out of New Mexico State last year. He hit .337/.435/.624 with 12 homers there last year, but it is an environment that is notoriously extremely hitter friendly. He came in last year and posted a .661 OPS in 27 games in Augusta after being drafted, which was enough to get him to Rome to open the season this year. With Rome he was fairly mediocre in April, slashing .244/.316/.314 with no homers and three steals in five attempts over 21 games. Once the calendar flipped to May, he has been one of the best hitters in the league slashing .345/.381/.569 with three homers and going a perfect seven for seven in steals over 15 games.
It’s still a little early to jump on the Dumitru hype train, but if he can continue to keep hitting at a high level he is a guy to watch as someone with a bit of pop who can get on base and run a little bit as well. Even if he can’t quite replicate this May stat line going forward, Dumitru is a guy worth following a bit more closely.
Owen Carey, OF, Augusta
The Braves drafted Owen Carey out of a New Hampshire high school in the 15th round last June, with the expectation that he was a raw but toolsy prospect. What he’s done to open the season in his professional debut has shown us that he might be a little less raw than what we thought. Carey is hitting .299/.381/.416 with 10 doubles, two homers, and eight stolen bases through 34 games played. He has also walked 13 times to 22 strikeouts over 156 plate appearances, while splitting time over all three outfield spots.
Carey’s hit tool is much more advanced than what was expected from a New Hampshire prep bat, and if he can add a little more strength to his 6’0”, 185-pound frame he may be able to add a little more power. He’s an on base threat who can run and adds defensive versatility.
It’s also worth noting that after posting a solid .766 OPS in April, he is at a .840 OPS in May as he seems to have further settled into facing older pitchers on a daily basis – considering he doesn’t turn 19 until late-July. Carey is certainly a player who will be in the mix for a spot on our Midseason Top 30 prospect list based on what he has shown in his pro debut.
Isaiah Drake, OF, Augusta
The Braves fifth round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Isaiah Drake had seen his stock slide after last year. It was known at the time he was drafted that he was a bit of a raw project with huge tools, and it surprised no one when he posted a .591 OPS over 19 games after signing in 2023. He came into 2024 ready to start in full season ball, but almost immediately got hurt. Once he came back he never really got going and posted a .159/.269/.244 slash line over 74 games – including five rehab games in the FCL. While it was a lost year due to injury, an ugly slash line like that over a 74 game sample size couldn’t be ignored completely, so he lost ground on the Top 30 prospect list – despite being a very toolsy young player.
Fast forward to this season and it’s been night and day difference. In 32 games he is hitting .264/.336/.384 with two homers included in his eight extra base hits and 13 steals, to go with 12 walks and 38 strikeouts in 140 plate appearances. Like some of the others on this list, Drake has been better in May than April with a .767 OPS against a .681 mark in April.
Drake is far from perfect, and still needs to cut the strikeouts and tap into a little bit more of his raw power. With that said this is a kid who doesn’t turn 20 until mid-July, who does have the tools, and is now getting on base at a decent rate. If he can continue to hit like this, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Rome by the middle of the season.
David McCabe, 1B/3B, Columbus
Ever since being the Braves fourth round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, David McCabe has been a bit of a fascinating prospect. He’s a guy with big raw power that gets on base at a high clip, had some huge seasons in college, and had a breakout in 2023 that he followed a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League that same year. However there have always been the same questions, namely can his bat speed play against top velocity and whether he is a first baseman or third baseman.
McCabe was finally about to get his first look at Double-A in 2024, but a spring injury and Tommy John surgery wiped out the bulk of his season. When he returned he struggled badly, posting a .497 OPS over 35 games and then a .584 mark in 10 games in the AFL. That type of season dropped him significantly down the Top 30 list, especially since he would enter the season at age-25 without any real Double-A experience.
McCabe has produced in Double-A thus far, slashing .252/.390/.387 with two homers and 27 walks to 26 strikeouts in 141 plate appearances. McCabe has also played 23 of his 24 games in the field at third base this year. The overall numbers are looking solid and he has helped to raise his stock back on an upward trajectory, though the lack of in-game power is a bit of a concern with just two homers, seven doubles, and a triple.
McCabe is a guy worth watching for the remainder of the season, and may be a good candidate to move to Gwinnett by midseason as he doesn’t have a ton of protection around him in the Clingstones lineup. Hopefully that could get his power to step forward a bit, as his ultimate ceiling will really depend on how much power he actually shows.
Rayven Antonio, RHP, Augusta
Rayven Antonio came into the season as a bit of an afterthought because of small sample sizes and low strikeout rates. However he did just turn 19 in March and lit up the DSL in 2023 with a 1.16 ERA and 0.94 WHIP – though with just a 6.4 K/9 in 31 innings. He went and split last year between the FCL and Augusta, pitching to a 4.05 ERA and 1.46 WHIP along with just a 6.0 K/9 in 46.2 innings.
He’s made six starts so far totaling 27.1 innings, with a 1.98 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. However the thing that has gotten him noticed is the fact that he’s missing bats at a career high rate of 9.2 per nine innings. To go with that he has continued to rack up a high rate of ground balls, with a 1.45 ground out to air out rate, after posting a 1.37 last year.
Antonio doesn’t have elite raw stuff, but he’s got more than enough stuff and some remaining projection to picture him developing into a backend starter or even a useful reliever. It’s not the biggest sample size, but if he keeps missing bats and continues to get the ball hit on the ground he could be a useful prospect for the Braves.
Brett Sears, RHP, Rome
The Braves drafted Brett Sears in the seventh round out of Nebraska last year as a senior sign type of prospect. He’s already 25-years-old and started the year in Low-A, so the hopes for him weren’t exactly high despite a 2.16 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in college last year.
Sears has been dominant this year. In five appearances for Augusta he posted a 1.93 ERA and 1.02 WHIP for 18.2 innings, striking out 14.9 per nine innings. That earned him a quick promotion to Rome, where he has a 2.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP over three starts to go with an 8.5 K/9.
Sears doesn’t have big stuff and is definitely a pitchability guy taking advantage of younger and lesser experienced A-ball hitters. It’s hard to call him a real prospect before he goes out and does something in the upper minors considering his age, stuff, and college experience. However the A-ball performance will at least be having us watch how he fares against better competition – which is quite the rise from a 25-year-old opening the season in Low-A.
Luke Sinnard, RHP, Augusta
The Braves may have caught a break that Luke Sinnard fell to them in the third round last year, due to an injury that kept him out of games from June 2023 until April 2025. Had he not gone down with injury at the end of the 2023 season, he was very likely to be selected in the first two rounds of last year’s draft out of Indiana.
Sinnard has started in Augusta considering the long layoff as he tries to shake off some rust, but so far there have been no problems. In his first six starts he has gone 24 innings, pitching to a 1.13 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 36 strikeouts to 11 walks.
It’s fair to think the Braves won’t push Sinnard too hard this year in his return from injury, but him just showing the stuff he had pre-injury and getting good results is a very encouraging sign from a prospect with some #3/4 starter upside.