The Braves have lost a lot of talent via trades and graduation, but there’s still some impressive tools on the farm:
MLB Pipeline selected Victor Vodnik for the Braves:
Braves: Victor Vodnik, RHP (No. 11)
Don’t judge a hard-throwing hurler by his size. Vodnik stands at just 6-foot, but the 23-year-old right-hander has touched 99.7 mph this spring and was averaging around 96 mph on his heater in 2022. Injuries have pushed the 2018 14th-rounder to the bullpen on a full-time basis, but he’s a good fit out there as it should allow him to let the fastball fly a bit more. Pair that with a plus changeup, and Vodnik could help the Atlanta relief corps in short order.
Before the Sean Murphy trade, this would have easily been Royber Salinas. Regardless, I expect the Braves to keep adding high upside arms in the MLB Draft, so they could easily look for another Spencer Strider-esque prospect in June.
Vodnik has dealt with some health issues over the last few seasons, and he’s now moved to a full time relief role. The 23-year-old had a lot of success out of the bullpen last year, posting a 2.34 ERA across AA and AAA. Vodnik has already been re-assigned to Gwinnett this Spring. That’s where he’ll begin the year, but with injuries being an inevitability over a 162-game season, we could see him make his MLB debut at some point in 2023 if his success continues on the farm.
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