The Road to The Show™: Braves’ Murphy

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at third-ranked Braves prospect Owen Murphy. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Last year, the Braves turned to pitching to replenish their farm system, beginning with the selection of Owen Murphy and three other hurlers on the first day of the Draft.

Atlanta, of course, needed the prospect refresh due to its own success in building a title contender at the Major League level with homegrown players and key trades. That process begins again with players like Murphy, the club’s No. 3 prospect.

In his first full season with Single-A Augusta, Murphy is sporting a 5.14 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 35 innings in 10 starts. Opposing batters are hitting .266 against him and he’s issued 17 walks so far. The 19-year-old was excellent to start the season but hit a rough patch in June. Murphy has allowed 11 earned runs over 8 ⅔ innings in his past three starts with seven walks, five strikeouts and a 1.224 OPS-against.

Since his prep school days, Murphy has had spotty command, despite being very athletic with a repeatable delivery. But he still has an opportunity to wield a four-pitch mix.

His low-90s fastball, which took a step forward during his senior year of high school, has great spin and ride which gives the offering some extra life. He also throws both a slider, which has tighter, cutter-like action, and a slower mid-70s curveball. The development of his fading changeup was a point of emphasis for him as he entered the Draft, and he’s still working to have the offering catch up to his other secondary pitches.

Murphy hit the 2022 Draft boards as a legitimate two-way prospect. In the summer of 2021, he made a lasting impression with the USA Baseball 18U National Team and at the Prospect Development Pipeline League, where he struck out 10 in four scoreless innings and went 4-for-9 with a homer.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound righty started to build a first-round profile during his senior season at Riverside-Brookfield High School in Illinois, where he also played the infield and was the school’s starting quarterback. He was named the 2022 Illinois’ Gatorade Player of the Year after finishing with a 0.12 ERA and 137 strikeouts over 58 1/3 innings. He also put together an excellent season at the plate, batting .548 with 18 homers and 75 RBIs.

Murphy was committed to Notre Dame and was hopeful to continue his path as a two-way prospect. But the Braves, who had four picks on Day 1, selected Murphy 20th overall, and he agreed to a reported $2.56 million deal, which was nearly $1 million less than slot value, later that week.

With their other three Day 1 picks, Atlanta selected their No. 4 prospect, JR Ritchie, fifth-ranked Cole Phillips and No. 22 Blake Burkhalter, who are all right-handers.

Following the Draft, Murphy was sent to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, where he allowed just two hits and collected seven strikeouts in five scoreless innings. The organization tested him with an aggressive promotion to Augusta, where he was roughed up in his final three starts of the season.

Owen Murphy, 2022 Draft prospect and @NDBaseball commit, got it done on both sides of the ball in #PDPLeague21 action.

The 3B/RHP out of Illinois fanned six and swatted a two-run homer. pic.twitter.com/ZlxQhHGngh

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 31, 2021

Since Vaughn Grissom graduated from prospect status last summer, the Braves didn’t have an MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect until righty A.J. Smith-Shawver cracked the list earlier this month.

Smith-Shawver is already contributing to the big league club, as is Atlanta’s second-ranked prospect, Jared Shuster. But there are plenty of arms left in the system as all but two of the club’s top 12 prospects are pitchers.

Still just a teenager, Murphy has plenty of time to emerge as the new leader of the pack.