Atlanta's Top Prospect in 2026 Will Be...a Guy That Hasn't Played a Single Professional Inning?

The Atlanta Braves minor league system is dominated by pitching, with all five of our top prospects and nine of the top fifteen being right-handed pitchers.

But MLB Pipeline thinks that's going to change in the hurry.

Predicting each team's 2026 Top Prospects, a trio of the league's prospect analysts have SS Jose Perdomo, the team's most recent international free agent signing, ascending to be named the organization's #1 prospect.

They admit it's a bold prediction, since Perdomo literally hasn't played a single inning of baseball as a professional, having just signed in January, but he's expected to debut in the Dominican Summer League this season and was in their top three of available international prospects prior to this year's J15 signing period.

They believe he's among the "best hitting prospects" in the class, with above-average contact ability and the ability to reach at least average power as he physically matures. Projected to stick at shortstop, a position where Atlanta doesn't have a lot of options in the future, MLB Pipeline believes he can get to an above-average defensive level, a needed talent level for a team that's been spoiled by having such great defenders as Andrelton Simmons and Dansby Swanson over the last fifteen years.

Perdomo's projected to be the #1 prospect in 2026 despite only being ready for a full season debut that season, which speaks more to the strengths of the system around him and how many of those prospects will be making MLB debuts in the next two years.

Of the Braves top prospects in our rankings, many of them are either former college performers (Hurston Waldrep, Spencer Schwellenbach, Drue Hackenberg, Cade Kuehler, etc) or have already debuted in MLB, like AJ Smith-Shawver (or both, in the cases of guys like Darius Vines and Dylan Dodd.)

Prep draftees typically need three to four seasons in the minors before they're ready to debut, so the likes of JR Ritchie, Owen Murphy, and Garrett Baumann will be Perdomo's main competition by 2026 for the top spot.

But if Perdomo's as good as he's believed to be, then Alex Anthopoulos' desire to be in the top of the international free agent market every season will look like yet another win by the team's architect.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article referred to Perdomo as Luis; we regret the error.

When it comes to international free agency, 'the Acuña Effect is real'

Important Braves Today Offseason Stories
2023 MLB Free Agent Rankings
Current Atlanta Braves prospect rankings
Current Atlanta Braves 40-man roster
2024 International Free Agency tracker

Check out Braves Today on Socials!
Follow Braves Today on Twitter!
Like Braves Today on Facebook!
Check out the homepage for more Atlanta Braves News!
Subscribe to Braves Today on YouTube!
Get Exclusive Braves Merchandise