The Book on Craig Kimbrel
Prospect Info
Craig Kimbrel
Born 5/28/1988
RHP, ATL
A fireplug righty in the Jon Broxton fashion, Kimbrel is the Braves' number one closer prospect. His heavy fastball touches 96, and when he mixes in his plus slider, he's near-unhittable. Kimbrel zipped through four levels of minor league ball in 2009, racking up 18 saves in 19 opportunities and striking out 103 in only 60 innings on his way to winning the Braves Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. Expect him to pay a visit to the Braves bullpen in 2010, with an eye on taking over the closing job in 2011 or 2012.
Ranking in ScoutingBook (7/30/2010): #147 
Ranking in Baseball America 2010: Unranked
Ranking in Baseball Prospectus: Unranked
Ranking in MiLB.com 2010 Season Preview Unranked
Ranking from the Sporting News: Unranked
Ranking from ESPN: Unranked
Player Updates and Notes
Craig Kimbrel is on his way to Atlanta (or technically, Washington to join the Braves on the road) to fill in while Jair Jurrjens is out of commission. He'll work from the bullpen, of course, getting a taste of big-league life while Kris Medlen or another reliever makes a few spot starts. The future Braves closer earned the call-up with a 1.20 ERA in 11 games for Class AAA Gwinnett. He held AAA hitters to a .143 average in April. He'll probably be back in AAA by June, but he's definitely a name to remember for 2011, as the Braves have no clear successor to lame-duck closer Billy Wagner.
5/5/2010 by BallGrrrl
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