Luis Guanipa is arguably the highest upside position player in the Braves system.
How Acquired
Luis Guanipa was signed during the 2023 International Signing Period. He was the crown jewel of that class for the Atlanta Braves, as the Venezuelan outfielder ranked among the Top 10 prospects in the class according to multiple rankings – though he did rank a bit lower on some other rankings. Guanipa received a $2.5M signing bonus.
Preseason Report Card
Guanipa ranked #6 on our Preseason Top 30 Prospects list after a promising start to his career in the DSL in his first professional season. He hit .238/.361/.384 with four homers and 20 steals in 208 plate appearances during his age-17 season. Guanipa was seen as a possible five tool player at maturity, with the speed, defense, and especially the bat as significant assets for him. The power wasn’t fully there in his debut, but that’s normal for a player so young to have to grow into the bigger power, but he did show plenty of gap power with an ability to hit for average, and a willingness to take walks.
What We Saw in 2024
The season didn’t go quite as planned for Guanipa. He began the year in the FCL as expected, but due to injury he missed the team’s first 22 games and didn’t debut until June 4. Once he got into the lineup was brought along slowly to start and only stayed until mid-July, when he was promoted to Low-A. During his time in the FCL he hit .282/.346/.451 with two homers and four steals in 81 plate appearances with seven walks and 10 strikeouts. It’s fair to say he more than held his own, though he was working with a small sample size.
Once he got promoted, he at times looked overmatched – not surprising considering he was 18 and playing against guys on average 2.5 years older than him. Guanipa ended up hitting .184/.250/.200 in 136 plate appearances with his only extra base hits being a pair of doubles. On a positive note he was still willing to take walks, as he received 11 of them, though did see a big jump in the strikeouts with 35.
Overall his 2024 combined slash line was .219/.286/.291 over 217 plate appearances between the FCL and Augusta.
2025 Outlook
It’s safe to pencil Guanipa back into Low-A for 2025. He has already proven himself enough that he won’t be tested in one of the complex leagues, and considering he will be in his age-19 season and struggled in the shorter stint he received there at the end of the year, there is no reason to be overly aggressive with him. Guanipa’s mixed 2024 didn’t do anything to hurt his stock, but he will be expected to make improvements this year. Still he remains a potential five tool star, but he ETA is at least a couple more years away – with late-2027 feeling optimistic.