There has never been a hitter who was drafted out of the Canadian province of Alberta and made it to the big leagues, though three have been selected in the past two years. The Blue Jays took Tim Piasentin in the fifth round last year, while two went in 2024: catcher Nathan Flewelling to the Rays in the third round and Hartman, the Braves’ final selection of the Draft in Round 20. Atlanta went over slot to sign him for around $340,000 and he provided some solid early returns with Single-A Augusta during his first full season while dealing with some hamstring issues. He took a huge step forward in 2026 with High-A Rome, hitting 24 homers and stealing 38 bases in 94 games before earning a promotion to Double-A in early August.
Hartman is one of the fastest players in the system, recording 30 ft/sec sprint speeds, which helped him steal 48 bases in 54 attempts in 2025, and top 40 steals again in 2026. At the plate, Hartman is a left-handed hitter who has displayed solid contact skills overall. He's continued to keep his strikeouts in check while drawing walks, understanding that his job is to get on base and use his speed to wreak havoc. At the same time, he's raised his profile considerably by elevating the ball in the air much more and finding the seats to his pull side.
At the outset, Hartman saw time in left field and at second base as the Braves tried to assess where he might fit best, but he was seeing all of his time in center field by the end of the year, a trend that continued in 2026, with an arm that still needs work. He's risen to the top of the system's prospect rankings by showing he can do damage at the plate and potentially play up the middle long term.
