This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PITTSBURGH -- Many Braves fans got their first look at John Gil when he joined some of the organization’s other prospects to play against a Tigers prospect team in the Spring Breakout game. He exited that contest after tweaking a left leg muscle while trying to beat out a grounder in the sixth.
Nearly two full months later, it’s obvious the ailment didn’t have any lingering effects on Gil’s tremendous speed, which he has been able to use far more frequently now that he has shown he is more prepared for the Single-A level than he was last summer.
Gil ranks as the Braves’ No. 13 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and his 70-grade speed provides him what is widely regarded as the best run tool in the club’s Minor League system. The 18-year-old shortstop still has plenty of room to grow offensively. But while hitting .243 and constructing a .339 on-base percentage through his first 26 games, he has been successful with 23 of 27 stolen-base attempts.
The early-season experience has been far different than the one Gil had last year, when he hit .204 with a .297 OBP over 39 games for Augusta. He had produced a .791 OPS in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. So, there wasn’t any reason to keep him there any longer last year. And with the recent elimination of short-season Rookie ball, there was only one place to send him and Luis Guanipa, an outfielder who ranks as the Braves' No. 14 prospect.
“We knew what we were sending there,” Braves roving instructor Terry Pendleton said in March. “We knew it was going to be kids that weren't going to get crushed by this. Some kids lose confidence and they're done. You have to be real sensitive with certain kids. You can't send them there knowing that if they fail or don't succeed, they're done. These two kids will fight you, too, until they’ve got nothing left, you know? We knew they would bounce back if they had success or didn't have success.”
Guanipa ranked as one of the top available outfielders when the Braves gave him a $2.3 million signing bonus in 2023. He played just three games this year for Augusta before landing on the injured list with a wrist injury. Gil has successfully handled the underdog role since receiving a $100,000 signing bonus that same year.