Braves Prospect Weekly: Burkhalter Keeps Stifling Triple-A, Gil Heats Up at Double-A
By JT Murphy ·
Braves Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Braves farm system.
Burkhalter Is Untouchable Out of the Gwinnett Pen
Blake Burkhalter (AAA, RHP, Rank: 12) turned in 4.1 innings of one-run ball against Triple-A competition this week, allowing two hits and zero walks while striking out seven. He generated 11 whiffs on 55 pitches, throwing 32 for strikes. For a reliever whose profile is built on the combination of a 94-97 mph four-seamer with ride and a plus cutter that cuts through contact, the week was another clean data point in an excellent Triple-A season. His ERA at Gwinnett sits at 1.48 across 24.1 innings, backed by a 29.6 K% and a walk rate of 9.2%. Over the last 30 days the ERA has climbed slightly to 2.45, but a 33.9 K% and 0.89 WHIP in that stretch provide a full view.
Burkhalter is a setup reliever projection, and the full-season combined line across levels bears that out: 1.26 ERA, 32.2 K%, and a 7.7 BB% in 35.2 innings. His command grades at 50, functional rather than sharp, and the walk numbers confirm it, but when the cutter and four-seam are working together he does not need to be precise in every quadrant. Last season at Triple-A and Double-A he posted a 3.32 ERA with a 20.1 K%, so the step forward in strikeout rate this year is real and reflects continued refinement of the fastball-cutter combination. The changeup is still more situational than an out pitch, which keeps left-handed hitters as a genuine question mark, but everything else in the profile right now looks like a big-league bullpen arm. Atlanta's pitching situation and his age (25) make the path to a callup more about roster timing than readiness.
John Gil Looks at Home in Double-A
John Gil (AA, SS, Rank: 7) had one of the better weeks at the plate in the system: 10 hits in 29 plate appearances, two doubles, three RBI, and four walks against just two strikeouts. The 20-year-old shortstop has been operating at a completely different level since joining Columbus on August 4, slashing .323/.405/.455 in 111 Double-A plate appearances with 12 stolen bases and a 10.8 BB%. His K% of 17.1 at the level is a meaningful drop from the 21.6% he carried across the full season at High-A, which is not what you expect from a prospect moving up. The contact rate of 77.2% over the last 30 days at Double-A, paired with a swing rate of 44.2%, suggests he is being selective and making consistent contact when he does offer.
The carrying tools here are a 70 speed grade and the on-base shape that goes with it: 55 stolen bases combined this season, a 12.5 BB% for the year, and the strike-zone discipline to generate walks without walking into bad counts. The power is modest, a 40 grade, and a combined .388 slugging does not change that picture, but Gil is a 20-year-old who is holding his own in Double-A while stealing bags and getting on base. The projection is utility infielder with a shot at an everyday second-base role if the bat stabilizes against better sequencing. The early Double-A returns are about as encouraging as they get for a player his age making that jump mid-season. His hit tool sits at 45 presently, but the contact numbers over the last month give you something to work with.
Quick Hits
- David McCabe (AAA, 1B, Rank: 26) · put up 9 hits in 25 plate appearances, including three doubles and a homer, driving in five runs. The home run was his 18th of the season, matching the production that made his Double-A numbers stand out earlier in the year (.282/.382/.580 with 16 HR in 220 PA at Columbus). His Triple-A slash over eight games now reads .400/.412/.733, a small sample but a loud one for a switch-hitting first baseman with a 55 power grade. McCabe is a bat-first profile with a 45 hit tool and real swing-and-miss concerns (24.4 K% on the season), but a combined .601 slugging is enough to keep the up-down conversation alive.
- Alex Lodise (AA, SS, Rank: 15) · collected 11 hits in 28 plate appearances with four doubles and five RBI, posting his best week since the promotion to Columbus. Over his last 30 days at High-A he slashed .340/.402/.563 with five home runs before the move up, and his early Double-A line of .320/.352/.460 in 54 PA suggests the bat is carrying. The walk rate at Double-A (3.7 BB%) is a concern given the 8.9% he carries for the season; that is one area where the step up has shown. He has 26 home runs combined this year and a 50 power grade to back it, and the power-over-hit profile will be tested harder as pitchers attack his swing-and-miss tendencies.
- Garrett Baumann (AAA, RHP, Rank: 14) · went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He generated 10 whiffs on 91 pitches. Over the last 30 days at Double-A before the full Triple-A assignment, he carried a 3.58 ERA with a 28.7 K% and a 31.8% whiff rate across 27.2 innings, a sharp contrast to the 9.26 ERA and home run issues that plagued his Triple-A time earlier in the year. The fastball sits 94-96 mph and the changeup gives him a legitimate opposite-hand weapon, but a 45 command grade is the ceiling on the projection until he proves he can locate more consistently.
- Owen Murphy (AAA, RHP, Rank: 6) · delivered five innings of one-run ball, scattering two hits with three walks and one strikeout. He generated seven swinging misses on 82 pitches. The low strikeout count (one punchout in five innings) will draw attention, but his Triple-A ERA holds at 3.42 across 84.1 innings, backed by a 24.9 K% for the season. Murphy's low-90s four-seamer with ride and a tight slider give him a legitimate two-pitch foundation; the changeup at 45 remains the development piece that will determine whether the rotation ceiling holds or he drifts toward a multi-inning role.
- Brett Sears (AAA, RHP, Rank: 42) · was promoted from Double-A Columbus to Triple-A Gwinnett on August 25 and went 4.1 innings in his second Gwinnett start, giving up one earned run on four hits while striking out six and walking three. He generated 10 whiffs on 93 pitches. His Double-A numbers this year were genuinely strong: 3.33 ERA across 94.2 innings with a 29.7 K% and a 5.8 BB%. The promotion is well-earned, and his combined 3.06 ERA and 30.3 K% across 106 innings this season make the up-down projection look conservative. At 26, he is a command-first profile with a 55 slider and a 55 command grade, and the early Triple-A returns (1.17 ERA in 7.2 IP) have been clean.
- Cam Caminiti (AA, LHP, Rank: 3) · went 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. He generated 18 swinging misses on 92 pitches. The whiff volume at Double-A remains a real asset: a 30.9% whiff rate and 2.37 ERA over his last four starts at Columbus back up a profile built around a 94-98 mph four-seamer with carry and a feel for three secondary pitches. The BB% at 13.1% over those four starts is elevated and consistent with his 45 command grade, the one ingredient that limits his current projection (No. 4 starter) from a higher outcome. He is 20 years old and already holding his own in Double-A.
- Ian Mejia (AA, RHP, Rank: 25) · threw six innings with two earned runs on four hits, walking three and striking out nine. He generated 21 swinging misses on 99 pitches, the highest whiff total among any pitcher tracked this week. The 21-whiff outing is worth highlighting because the season-long context has been rough: a 7.78 ERA across 61.1 innings at Double-A this year, with 17 home runs allowed and a 10.5 BB%. His 2025 Double-A ERA was 2.62, so the regression is real. The slider is still his best weapon, and a 30.3% whiff rate over the last 30 days shows it can generate swings-and-misses. But until the home run and walk numbers settle, the long-reliever projection and up-down ceiling are hard to move past.
- Ethan Bagwell (A+, RHP, Rank: 22) · was placed on the seven-day injured list by Rome on August 25. A diagnosis has not been confirmed. His last appearance was August 20, and the two outings leading up to the placement were rough: 4.2 innings, nine earned runs, and a 17.36 ERA in that short stretch. His full-season numbers are split cleanly between levels: a 2.78 ERA across 68 innings at Augusta and a 3.83 ERA in 40 innings at Rome. The health update will be the first thing to watch when any news surfaces.