Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 60 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45

Still in the penalty for previous signing infractions when the 2021 signing period opened in January 2021, the Braves only had half of what their bonus pool would have been. They were able to add Lara’s talent to the system for just $10,000 in June. He was 18 when he signed, a bit older for the market, but he’s moved relatively quickly since, coming to the United States for the first time in 2023 and reaching Double-A in 2024.

Lara will be 22 for all of the 2025 season and remains primarily a two-pitch pitcher. His fastball backed up a little bit in 2024, averaging more around 94-95 mph and topping out at 96-97. His upper-80s slider with good spin and sweep was excellent, with a 46 percent miss rate on the pitch last year, and he threw it almost as often as his heater. There’s talk of him playing around with a changeup at some point, but the focus remains on the consistency of his two potentially plus offerings.

What kind of role Lara might have long-term will come down to his ability to repeat his delivery and throw strikes. There’s definitely reliever risk here given that he walked 6.5 per nine last year (5.9/9 in his career), but the Braves don’t want to pull the plug too quickly on him starting because his stuff holds up and misses bats consistently.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45

The Braves only had 50 percent of what would have been their bonus pool for the 2020-21 signing period because of their previous signing infractions, so finding bargains was a plus. They might have found one in Lara, who was 18 when he signed for just $10,000 in June of 2021. He made his debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2022 at age 18 and put his name on the map for the first time by pitching his way from Single-A Augusta to High-A Rome during his United States debut in 2023.

Lara currently is a two-pitch pitcher, but they’re both really interesting offerings that miss a ton of bats (12.6 K/9 rate in 2023). His fastball was consistently 95-98 mph last year and often touched 99. His slider, a hard breaking ball with sweeping action he typically threw in the 88-90 mph range with solid spin rates, also had a high whiff rate.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander didn’t show a changeup in game action, and while his ability to find the strike zone has improved, it’s definitely control over command. He’ll need to develop a third pitch and keep refining his strike throwing in order to give him a chance to start, something the Braves plan to let him keep doing in 2024. The fastball-slider combination could be downright nasty in shorter relief stints, but given how far Lara has come just in the last year alone, they don’t want to rule anything out.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

When the 2020-21 international signing period opened, the Braves were still limited because of their previous signing infractions, given just 50 percent of what would have been their bonus pool. They didn’t sign Lara, who was already 18 at the time, until June of 2021 and gave him just $10,000 to join the organization. He didn’t make his debut until 2022, pitching at age 19 in the Dominican Summer League, and he first made noise by pitching his way from Single-A Augusta to High-A Rome during his United States debut in 2023.

Lara currently is a two-pitch pitcher, but they’re both really interesting offerings that miss a ton of bats (12.6 K/9 rate in 2023). His fastball was consistently 95-98 mph last year and often touched 99. His slider, a hard breaking ball with sweeping action he typically threw in the 88-90 mph range with spin rates north of 3,000 rpm, also had a high whiff rate.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander didn’t show a changeup in game action, and while his ability to find the strike zone has improved, it’s definitely control over command. He’ll need to develop a third pitch and keep refining his strike-throwing in order to give him a chance to start, something the Braves plan to let him keep doing in 2024. The fastball-slider combination could be downright nasty in shorter relief stints, but given how far Lara has come just in the last year alone, they don’t want to rule anything out.

Awards

SAL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
08/11/2024

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	05/13/2025	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to Gwinnett Stripers from Columbus Clingstones.
	12/13/2024	RHP Jhancarlos Lara roster status changed by Columbus Clingstones.
	08/13/2024	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to Mississippi Braves from Rome Emperors.
	08/13/2024	Mississippi Braves activated RHP Jhancarlos Lara.
	05/02/2024	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to Rome Emperors from FCL Braves.
	04/02/2024	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to FCL Braves from Rome Emperors.
	08/24/2023	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to Rome Braves from Augusta GreenJackets.
	08/24/2023	Rome Braves activated RHP Jhancarlos Lara.
	04/05/2023	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to Augusta GreenJackets from DSL Braves.
	06/05/2022	RHP Jhancarlos Lara assigned to DSL Braves.
	06/07/2021	Atlanta Braves signed free agent RHP Jhancarlos Lara to a minor league contract.