Youth, of corse, is also being served. I’d like to give you my perspective on how to rank these guys. You be the judge of how well I’ve done:
1. Ryan Langerhans (I hope the kid stays in Atlanta for a long time, and fills an everyday outfield position.)
2. Pete Orr (May be a surprise so high, but he can play so many positions, pinch hit/run, he’s good enough to start)
3. Wilson Betimit (My pick to succeed Furcal, but hit him 6th)
4. Kyle Davies (Shaky Lately, but useful as a temporary and eventual spot starter, hopefully he can saty on roster in a role similar to Bernero’s)
5. Kelly Johnson (Proving himself lately. Now we know why he’s been inserted high in the batting order.)
6. Roman Colon (He’s recently been demoted, but he shows a big upside.)
7. Brian McCann (He’ll play 25% of games at major league level)
8. Blaine Boyer
9. Andy Marte
10. Jorge Vasquez

Thanks for sharing your take on the Braves’ youngsters. Over the long term, I rank them as follows:

1. Andy Marte (he has been hailed as the next Braves superstar and I think he will be eventually; they just rushed him up after Chipper went down and Bobby couldn’t make up his mind whether to play Marte every day, what’s needed in order for Marte to develop into a major leaguer, or Betemit, who is swinging well this year; I think Bobby finally did the right thing - let Marte play every day at AAA and play Betemit every day and help the big league club right now)

2. Kelly Johnson (I’m on the bandwagon, he has such a great eye and now we’ve seen his power on display, once he familiarizes himself with the league’s pitchers and really gets comfortable watch out! In time, he should put up a great average and on-base percentage)

3. Ryan Langerhans (again, it’s likely just a matter of playing time before we see him blossom into a solid all-around player, his defense is outstanding and it’s frustrating when you see Brian Jordan of the .236 average start ahead of him half the time)

4. Kyle Davies (I think he’s just going through some inveitable growing pains right now, the coaches rave about his maturity, it’s hard to believe he’s only 21, the Braves have really thrown him to the wolves but he’ll learn and become the Braves’ #2 starter within a couple years)

5. Pete Orr (edges out Betemit because of his versatility, seems like the ultimate utility guy, he may be the heir apparent to second base if the Braves can’t afford to keep Marcus Giles after this season)

6. Wilson Betemit (he’s an enigma, he’s been so inconsistent in the minors… now that Marte has been sent down and he has been handed the third base position we’ll see what’s he really made of, his fielding seems pretty shaky – I don’t know if he’d be better in that respect if he was back at shortstop, I can see him batting .280 with 25 homers over the course of a full season if Furcal leaves)

7. Brian McCann (there’s a reason Smoltz has made him his private catcher, his defense and game-calling ability – not to mention his hitting – have impressed many on the Braves in the short time he’s been up, he’ll challenge Estrada for playing time in future years)

8. Roman Colon (he may have a future as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, too early to tell, he threw 6 shutout innings today after posting a 0.93 ERA in 3 starts at Richmond, maybe he’s better suited to be a starter, Bobby sees something in him or else he wouldn’t have kept him up so long while he struggled earlier in the year)

Too early to tell:
9. Blaine Boyer
10. Jorge Vasquez

Matthew