Two Atlanta Braves youngsters were among MLB’s top 20 for the next decade, according to Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Minor league outfielder Jason Heyward checked in at No. 13 on the Baseball Prospectus list and was the only player without a Major League at-bat. Right-hander Tommy Hanson was at No. 17 after going 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in half a season with the Braves in 2009.

These lists are far from scientific, but Heyward is in some kind of elite company on this particular one. He is widely regarded as the top position player prospect in the game, but the fact remains that he’s got just 11 at-bats above the Double-A level. Lumping him with the likes of Hanley Ramirez, who was tops on the list, Ryan Braun (No. 7) and Felix Hernandez (No. 9) requires an awfully favorable projection.

Heyward was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year for 2009 after hitting .322 with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs between stops at High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi. In 47 games at the Double-A level, he hit .352 and had 28 walks to 19 strikeouts. The kid, who turned 20 in August, is not far way from a Major League job. In fact, we may even see him midway through the 2010 season.

Hanson, on the other hand, is worthy of being compared to another big right-hander dominating the news headlines right now, the newest Philadelphia Phillie Roy Halladay. Even at a young age, Hanson has the signs of being the same kind of cool righty who repeats his delivery well and throws everything on a downhill plane.

Hanson was tremendous in 2009, but could have a true coming-out party in the season ahead. That goes double for fantasy leaguers, who appreciated the fact that Hanson was beyond his years as a competitor, but hoped for more dominance in the WHIP and strikeouts categories. Expect those numbers to rise next season.