Atlanta Braves rumors: 2 prospects to promote, 1 player to demote

The Atlanta Braves have several looming roster moves to make despite their recent win streak. So, who should they promote, and who should they demote?

Atlanta’s farm system isn’t much to write home about, as they’re ranked near the bottom of the majors overall. Nonetheless, every system has reinforcements, and the Braves will need that at some point. Beyond the obvious injury issues which plagued Atlanta early this season, the Braves have a gaping hole in the outfield with Marcell Ozuna in left field/DH. Add in unproven talent towards the back end of the Atlanta rotation, and there’s plenty of work to do.

The Braves recently called up Vaughn Grissom to take Orlando Arcia’s roster spot, so for the purpose of this exercise we’ll leave him out of the ‘call up’ conversation. Grissom is a controversial prospect in Atlanta’s system because of his defensive ability, or lack thereof.

Grissom aside, though, who should the Braves promote? And if they do make a move, which player could be sent down to the minors?

Braves prospect to call up: Victor Vodnik

Atlanta’s bullpen has been decimated by injuries, which should prompt a quick decision from the Braves front office to call up someone from Gwinnett. Vodnik isn’t the Braves best pitching prospect, but he’s steadily made his way to the top of the farm system, and currently sports a 3.60 ERA in Triple-A. Last season he had a combined 2.34 ERA out of the bullpen in Double-A and Triple-A.

Vodnik has yet to prove himself at the MLB level, but with the likes of Raisel Iglesias, Collin McHugh, Tyler Matzek, Huascar Ynoa and Lucas Luetge all on the injured list, the Braves need reliable bullpen arms. Vodnik could provide just that, per MLB Pipeline:

"“A bit of an undersized right-hander at 6 feet tall, Vodnik has more than enough stuff to be an effective reliever. It’s mostly a two-pitch mix with his fastball and changeup, both of which are plus pitches. His lively heater averaged close to 96 mph in 2022 and was up to 99, and he’s touched triple digits in the past. He can miss bats and get a ton of weak contact on the ground with his upper-80s changeup, which he sells well with good arm speed. He does have a slurvy slider, but he doesn’t throw it a lot and it’s a distant third pitch.”"

Pitching depth is a clear area of need for the Braves, and as good as their rotation can be, middle relief help is a weakness at the moment.