Baseball America updates Braves prospect rankings; move SS Ignacio Alvarez up ten spots

They don't know if he'll stick at short, but they're high on the 2022 draftee

It's the time of year where all of the Prospect Apparatus - the various website writers and podcasters who evaluate prospects for a living - starts releasing updated rankings of prospects for various teams. 

Baseball America just did, and they had complimentary things to say about one of Atlanta's newest prospects. 

SS Ignacio Alvarez, a 2022 5th rounder out of Riverside (California) Junior College, has spent this season in High-A Rome and is performing well: In 58 games, he's hitting .269/.407/.335, with 11 extra base hits (only one home run) an forty-two walks to thirty-eight strikeouts. 

Originally rated at #17 entering the season, Baseball America moved him up to #7 and here's what they said ($) about the move: 

Alvarez possesses some of the best plate skills in the Braves system. He’s walked more than he’s struck out this season and shows plus contact and plate discipline. His power hasn’t yet shown up as Alvarez is still learning to elevate the ball on his best contact. He’s seen most of his time at shortstop this season but likely will see time at second base and third base long term.

The stats bear this out - "Nacho", as he's known, is swinging only 38.9% of the time in A+, with a 84% contact rate. (For context, averages for A+ is around 46% swing rate with a 73% contact rate.)

In their spring writeup, they discussed Alvarez at third base instead of shortstop, saying "Alvarez could be an above-average third baseman with above-average arm strength and he also played 10 games at shortstop in his pro debut."

Either way, Alvarez's emergence is a good thing for balance in the Atlanta farm system. Of the top ten prospects, only three are position players: Alvarez at 7, C Drake Baldwin at #6, and SS Braden Shewmake at #9.

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