Royber

Salinas

No real surprises among the first batch of cuts from Braves camp. Waldrep struggled last year in his first taste of the majors but still boasts some of the most intriguing stuff of any pitching prospect in the game. The 22-year-old former first-round pick figures to make a fantasy impact at some point down the road given his astronomical strikeout potential.

Salinas was non-tendered by Atlanta, but just like Ray Kerr, the club was able to bring back Salinas on a minor league pact. The 23-year-old still has some upside in his arm, but needs to show he can stay healthy and throw more consistent quality strikes to reach his ceiling.

The Braves just claimed the 23-year-old hurler off of waivers from the Athletics a couple of weeks ago — after they previously dealt him to the A’s in the Sean Murphy trade. Don’t be surprised if this is more of a procedural move to sneak him through waivers and the Braves ultimately re-sign him to a minor league contract.

It’s a return to the Atlanta organization for Salinas after Salinas was traded to Oakland in the three-team deal for Sean Murphy. Salinas registered a a 4.60 ERA in the upper levels in 2024 with a 50/34 K/BB over 10 starts and 43 innings. He’ll essentially be a reclamation project for Atlanta while providing some depth.

It’s a large batch of cuts, and there’s definitely some talent mixed in there, but no one who was truly expected to crack the team’s Opening Day roster. Jordan Diaz saw significant time with the A’s during the 2023 season and he’ll surely get another chance at some point in 2024. Estes is somewhat surprising, as he was absolutely dealing in Cactus League play — posting a 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP and an 8/1 K/BB ratio across seven innings in his three outings.

Salinas was one of the ancillary components of the Athletics’ trade with the Braves centered around Matt Olson back in December, 2022. The 22-year-old righty posted an inflated 5.88 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 89/31 K/BB ratio across 67 1/3 innings (18 appearances, 16 starts) this past season for Double-A Midland.

Salinas, 21, registered an overall 3.55 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 175/63 K/BB ratio in 109 innings this past summer between Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome. The swing-and-miss upside is intriguing, but that walk rate obviously has to be reined in considerably. Call him a worthwhile project for Oakland.

Salinas leads the minors with an eye-popping 52 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings this season at Single-A Augusta. The 21-year-old righty also posted a microscopic 1.52 ERA and 0.93 WHIP during that five-start span to open the 2022 campaign. He’s certainly worthy of a speculative roster spot for fantasy managers in long-term keeper and dynasty league formats.