Atlanta Braves: 10 Former Prospects That Got Away

To see my original article/slideshow on Bleacher Report click here

The Atlanta Braves have a great tradition of drafting and developing players. No other team has had the international pressence or pre-draft scouting success that the Braves have had since the late 1980s

Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, Andruw Jones, Javy Lopez, David Justice, Steve Avery, and Rafael Furcal are some names that the Braves have developed from the past.

Some from the present are Yunel Escobar, Brian McCann, Tommy Hanson, Kenshin Kawakami, and of course top prospect Jason Heyward.

Even with all of the success the Braves have had in signing, drafting, and developing players with no previous major league experience, there have been a few stars that have gotten away.

This list will compile the top 10 players who were in the Braves system at a young age and went on to have successful careers with other teams.

Before I show you the top 10, here are the players who receive the ”honorable mention” rank.

Ken Dayley who was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ken Oberkfell.

Brook Jacoby who was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Len Barker.

Willy Aybar who was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jeff Ridgway.

Here is the 1-10, hope you enjoy!

10. SS—Elvis Andrus

Elvis Andrus was one of the big prospects traded for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay in 2007. Andrus was a Baseball America Top 100 prospect for four straight seasons and he will play the 2010 season at just 21 years old.

Andrus is more of a light hitter with a decent average and decent on base skills, but he is unbelievable defensively at shortstop.

Elvis finished 2009 with the best UZR/150 of any shortstop with a minimum of 110 games played at shortstop.

His glove work was possibly the best in the game at only 20 years old, pretty impressive to say the least.

Andrus may never hit more than 15 home runs or have a slugging percentage over .450 but his defensive value is unparalleled at this time.

The Braves do not immediately feel the affects of letting Andrus go. However, with Chipper Jones aging and Yunel Escobar having been a solid third base option in the past, Andrus could have been helpful to this ball club in the future.

9. RHP—Bob Walk

Bob Walk moved back and forth as a starter and reliever over the course of his career and he was an above average pitch-to-contact type.

Walk makes this list because after playing parts of three seasons in Atlanta he was released and later signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, whom he had a 3.52 ERA in 164 starts and 246 total games played.

Getting absolutely nothing back for a player who produces those types of numbers across his first nine seasons with a team had to hurt the Braves’ front office.

Walk’s 1993 year was atrocious and he retired after the seasons’ end, but the eight years of solid production before his retirement are why he made this list.

8. RHP—Neftali Feliz

Feliz has thrown just 31 major league innings, but he is already a player that the Braves are upset to have lost.

Feliz is a big right-hander who regularly throws in the high nineties, and he is just 21 years old.

Feliz was traded to the Rangers in the infamous Mark Teixeira deal in the summer of 2007. Many saw Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the big talent the Rangers received in the deal, but it is Feliz who has the highest upside.

Going into the 2009 season Feliz was ranked as Baseball America’s 10th best major league prospect.

The Braves blogosphere will always monitor the success of Feliz and we will always be forced to wonder what could have been with Feliz next to Hanson and Jurrjens in the rotation.

7. RHP—Jason Marquis

On December 13, 2003 the Braves traded Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, and left-handed reliever Ray King to St. Louis for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero.

Marquis was coming off a season with just 40 innings pitched and was subsequently traded. Since the trade, Jason has averaged 196 innings per season.

The Braves biggest problem in 2007 and 2008 was having an injury riddled rotation with few reliably and sturdy starting pitchers, so Marquis arm could have helped.

Jason made his first All-Star game for the Rockies last season as he won 15 games. Since he was traded by the Braves, Marquis has won double digits in each and every season.

Marquis is no ace, but his durability and quality innings could have helped the Braves make the playoffs in 2007 and 2008.

6. CF—Brett Butler

Brett Butler was part of a deal for Len Barker in which the Braves sent players to be named later and $150,000 to the Cleveland Indians.

Butler had played parts of three seasons with the Braves and in his final year in Atlanta, he led the league in triples.

Butler played with the Indians, Dodgers, Giants, and Mets and he finished his career with 558 stolen bases. Butler was known as one of the fastest players in the majors and actually had over twice as many triples (131) as home runs (54).

The Braves had a number of solid center fielders during Butler’s playing days, but they certainly could have used his tremendous speed and solid on base skills over that time span.

5. RHP—Duane Ward

Duane Ward was the Braves’ first round draft pick, ninth overall, in the 1982 amateur draft.

Ward spent four seasons in the minors before the Braves traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for Doyle Alexander.

He played seven seasons with Toronto and was on both of the World Series Championship teams in 1992 and 1993. He spent 1993 season as their closer, saving 45 games which led the league.

Ward finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting two times, finished 22nd in MVP voting in 1993, and also made one all star appearance.

Ward finished his career with a 3.28 career ERA and 679 strikeouts in 666.2 innings.

Perhaps Ward’s most important place in Braves’ history was being traded for Doyle Alexander, who was eventually traded for future Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

4. RHP—Jason Schmidt

Schmidt ended up being the “player to be named later” in the Braves’ 1996 deal for Denny Neagle. Neagle was very good for his two seasons as a Brave, but Schmidt went on to have a very solid major league career with the Pirates and Giants.

Schmidt ended up finishing second in Cy Young balloting in 2003 and fourth in 2004. He made the all-star team in both of those seasons and he lead the league in ERA in ’03.

Jason had a great seven-year run from 1998-2004 as he won 87 games, had an ERA-plus of 119 (100 is league average), as well as striking out 165 batters per season.

Schmidt’s past few years have been filled with injuries and uncertainty, but he is absolutely a player the Braves wish they could have held on to when you look back on the success he had throughout his career.

3. 1B—Andre Thornton

Andre Thornton was only in the Braves system for 11 months before being traded to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Pepitone. The Braves had originally acquired Thornton from the Phillies the season before.

Thornton went on to lead a very productive major league career, mainly with the Cleveland Indians. He ended up as a two-time all star and had 253 career home runs.

Although Thornton had a low batting average, he had great plate discipline as he walked (876 BB) more than he struckout (851 SO) over the course of his career.

During Thornton’s 14-year career, the Braves finished last or second to last 10 times. They certainly could have used his production from 1973-1987. Those years were notorious with poor baseball in Atlanta.

2. RHP—Adam Wainwright

Wainwright was the Braves first round draft pick, 29th overall, and was named a B.A. Top 100 prospect three times before his trade to the Cardinals.

Prior to the 2003 season, Wainwright was ranked 18th on the annual prospect ranking list.

Despite all of the praise that Wainwright had received, the Braves felt they needed a big right field bat more than a stud pitching prospect.

Drew and Marrero were actually very productive for the Braves. Drew had his best season to date and Marrero had his second season with 10 or more home runs, but they both only played one season, 2004, for the Braves.

Wainwright spent his first major league season as a reliever and eventually became the closer of the 2006 World Series Champion Cardinals.

Wainwright closed four games in the playoffs that season, including a memorable game seven against the Mets in which he froze Carlos Beltran with his devastating overhand curveball.

Wainwright had his best year in 2009. He finished third in Cy Young balloting as he went 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 233 innings pitched.

Wainwright will be just 28-years-old during the 2010 season and he enters the year as one of the top pitchers in all of baseball.

1. RF—Jermaine Dye

Dye burst on to the scene as a 22-year-old rookie in 1996 for the NL Champion Atlanta Braves. Dye finished sixth in Rookie of the Year balloting as he hit 12 home runs in 306 plate appearances.

The Braves also had Andruw Jones, so they deemed Dye expendable. Dye was traded along with Jamie Walker for Keith Lockhart, a second basemen coming off of a season with a .319 OBP, and Michael Tucker whom at that point in time was more or less a left handed version of Dye.

Dye has since hit 313 home runs with the Royals, Athletics, and White Sox. Dye has made two All-Star games, won a Gold Glove, won a Silver Slugger award, finished in the top-15 in MVP voting twice, and won the World Series MVP award in 2005.

The Braves have had a revolving door in right field since letting Dye go for Tucker and Lockhart. Although Dye is not Hall of Fame material, he has been an exceptional player and a great middle of the lineup bat.

The competition for the top spot was close, but Dye has already had a monster of a career after being traded by the Braves whereas Wainwright is still on the good side of 30-years-old.

With his 300 homers, plethora of awards, and solid defense over the course of his career, Jermaine Dye ranks as the number one prospect who got away from the Braves and had a great career elsewhere.

Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg

Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg are the top two prospects on nearly every prospect ranking publication.

The two are labeled No. 1 and No. 1a compared to the rest of the prospect pool, and many scouts and executives have stated that they are absolute can’t-miss prospects.

So what puts these two so far ahead of the rest of the field?

Jason Heyward

Jason Heyward is a Georgia native playing for his favorite franchise and has all of the natural gifts a great outfielder could have. He has great height at 6’4″ and great size, as he weighs 240 lbs. in the offseason and usually plays his season somewhere around 230 lbs. To go along with his great size is superb speed and agility for such a big outfielder.

Heyward is said to have great maturity for such a young player. He played the entire 2009 season at the age of 19 and was named minor league player of the year.

Most minor leaguers are willing to swing a bit more than they should, just because they want to impress and make a name for themselves. This is not the case for Heyward, who has posted great walk rates throughout his minor league career. He’s collected 105 walks in 1,003 plate appearances, good for a 10 percent walk rate, which is very impressive.

Heyward’s numbers in 2009 across three levels were outstanding. He finished off with a few at-bats at AAA but spent most of it at AA. His average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage for the entire season were a very imposing .323/.408/.555.

Along with that staggering line, Heyward hit seven homers, 25 doubles, and stole 10 out of 11 bases. For Heyward’s minor league career he has totaled 26 stolen bases in 31 attempts—the big guy can run the bases.

In the field, Heyward is a bit too big for center field, but he has the athleticism and talent to be a very successful defensive right fielder. His arm is plus, and his range is as well.

There are no glaring flaws in Heyward’s game. Coming into spring training the Braves have no set depth chart for right field. Heyward will be given every opportunity to win the job out of spring training, and it would be surprising, to say the least, if he does not come away with the starting gig in March.

Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg was the super prospect of last year, going No. 1 in the draft and signing a huge contract on the final day of signing eligibility. If the Nationals did not sign Strasburg last year, he would have been re-entered into the draft this year. Thankfully for the Nationals, Strasburg signed and is ready to begin his professional career.

Stephen’s size is admirable, just as Heyward’s is. He comes in at 6’4″ and 220, so you can see where Strasburg’s power comes from. Strasburg touches 100 mph with his fastball with as much regularity as any player currently in the major leagues. His slider sits around 90 mph, and his changeup, once presumed to be a subpar pitch, improved greatly during his time at the Arizona Fall League.

His performance at the AFL was uninspiring, but that was largely due to working heavily on his changeup. Strasburg has all of the talent in the world, and his former coach Tony Gwynn has previously stated that he could have been a major league pitcher last season while still in college.

Strasburg’s 2009 season at San Diego State University saw him go 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA. He allowed 16 earned runs, walked 19, and struck out 195 batters in only 109 innings pitched. He also was able to throw his first career no-hitter in May, solidifying his spot as the nation’s top pitcher and best college baseball player.

The Nationals have an amazing talent on their hands, and they would be wise to let him progress slowly. Many want Strasburg up as soon as possible, but patience with these types of players is the most sensible option.

Allowing him to advance through the system level by level will give him a better idea of what major league hitters will expect, and this will allow him to further develop his skills before reaching the major leagues.

A Look At The Young Braves

The Braves are underperforming and there are not many positive things to talk about for the every day fan. I, however, am an optimist and like to look at the good things to keep myself from realizing how terrible everything truly is.

There are a plethra of young Braves already on the roster. You can start with Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Jeff Francoeur. In my opinion, Francoeur should not be the long term solution in right field, but my opinion will not effect his playing time. McCann, Johnson, and Escobar are all top 10 players at their position. The Braves infield produces as well as any infield in the league, including the Chicago Cub’s. I guess that makes it a good thing that most of our prospects are outfielders

The Braves farm system is stellar. The names from rookie ball all the way up to AAA are fascinating to say the least. Hitters and pitchers alike are growing up before our … stat sheets. Not many of us have the benefit of being able to see any of these players other than a few at bats online or in the futures game.

Here is just a list of the players 26 years or younger that we either have coming up through the system that look like they can be solid major league players, or already solid major leaguers.

Hitters-
Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Jeff Francoeur, Yunel Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez, Jason Heyward, Jordan Schafer, Freddy Freeman, Brandon Hicks, Brandon Jones, Brent Lillibridge, Cody Johnson.

Jason Heyward, Jordan Schafer, Gorkys Hernandez, and Freddy Freeman all have the makings for big time hitters. Jason Heyward should supply 30+ HR power, hit for average, steal bases, and if moved to first be a perrenial Gold Glove candidate. With Schafer we basically have a clone of Grady Sizemore. Gorkys has done nothing but hit, and should continue to do so.

Pitchers-
Tommy Hanson, Cole Rohrbough, Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, Jose Ortegano, Julio Teheran.

With these pitchers coming up through the system and already having 3 starters in the rotation that are under 25, the Braves future looks very bright. Jair Jurrjens, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Charlie Morton look to be mainstays in the Atlanta rotation for a long time. These three should be three that the franchise builds around, and with Tommy Hanson pitching no-hitters nowadays, you can probably get ready to include him pretty soon as well.

This season may not end up well, or we could end up winning the World Series. Whichever happens, we know that our team will be solid in years to come with these prospects and trading pieces coming up.

Big Board, Braves Prospects

Here is how I currently rank the top 15 Braves prospects. This ranking is in terms of how good the player can be, coupled with how valuable they could be to the organization(I.E. via trade).

1. Jason Heyward(A) 18, OF, L/L – 221 AB, .335/.395/.515, .911 OPS, 22 BB, 15 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 8.44 RC/27

Heyward was the Braves #1 draft choice in 2007 and has done nothing but put up numbers since being drafted. He’s made the leagues All-Star team along with Freddy Freeman and has the potential to be a star. At the age of just 18 Heyward has plenty of room to improve upon his numbers and become a force at the plate.

2. Charlie Morton(AAA) 24, RHP – 5-1, 1.70 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 2.83 K/BB, 8.27 K/9, 0 HR allowed

Talk about shooting up the rankings. Within the past calendar year Morton has went from being a non factor in the Braves organization to being a potential ace. He has a new found confidence and has just been lighting up AAA players this season, he could be called up to the ML squad at any time.

3. Tommy Hanson(A+/AA) 21, RHP
A+ – 3-1, 0.90 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 4.45 K/BB, 11.03 K/9, 0 HR allowed
AA – 2-2, 5.54 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 2.27 K/BB, 8.65 K/9, 1 HR allowed

Tommy is the only top prospect in the Braves organization to move across levels aside from Lillibridge who had a brief stint with the ML team. Hanson was absolutely lighting up High-A ball and his K/9 even at a much tougher AA division is still staggering. He and Morton have let up a combined 1 HR this season, which is a very good sign.

4. Freddy Freeman(A) 18, 1B, R/L -222 AB, .302/.346/.509, .855 OPS, 15 BB, 19 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 6.50 RC/27

Freeman who was also drafted out of high school last year has also been dominating at Rome. He’s got a powerful left handed bat and has some surprising speed for such a big first basemen. I expect Freeman and Heyward to move along similarly throughout the system.

5. Jordan Schafer(AA) 21, OF, L/L – 20 AB, .200/.333/.350, .683 OPS, 4 BB, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 4.25 RC/27

We all know Jordan’s deal, the 50 game suspension really hurt his status but we also all know what kind of potential the kid has. He’s came back and the Grady Sizemore comparisons are ready to start up again, hopefully he can continue to rake just as he did last year.

6. Brandon Hicks(A+)22, SS, R/R – 169 AB, .237/.328/.533, .861 OPS, 23 BB, 17 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 6.11 RC/27

Hicks, another product of our ’07 draft has got one of the better eyes in the system. His 23 walks coupled with his 26 extra base hits including 11 HR make him a really rare type of middle infielder.

7. Jeff Locke(A) 20, LHP – 1-7, 4.69 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 2.75 K/BB, 7.82 K/9, 4 HR allowed

Locke was very good in Rookie ball last season but has taken a bit of a step backwards so far this season. He’s had some command problems, walking 20 in 63.1 innings pitched. His BAA is hovering near .300 but based on last years performance I expect him to lower his numbers across the board.

8. Cole Rohrbough(A) 21, LHP – 1-1, 4.24 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 3.18 K/BB, 11.12 K/9, 0 HR allowed

Rohrbough just recently came back from injury and although he only has a few starts in our system, is thought of as a very good starter and should be able to produce well in Rome the rest of the season. His current K/9 ratio should lower, but currently it is very good.

9. Clint Sammons(AAA)25, C, R/R -146 AB, .274/.342/.377, .718 OPS, 15 BB, 12 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4.84 RC/27

Sammons appears to be a solid candidate for a backup catcher roll. He is a solid catch and throw guy and calls a good game. His bat has been good this year although he is lacking extra base hits. He is getting older and doesn’t have much more to do down in the minors. I expect if anything were to happen to Corky or if the Braves decide they need to get rid of him, Sammons would be up with the big club.

10. Gorkys Hernandez(A+) 20, OF, R/R – 103 AB, .311/.349/.534, .883 OPS, 6 BB, 7 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 7.42 RC/27

A big part of the Jurrjens/Renteria trade, Gorkys has done very well with the Pelicans and has one of the highest RC/27 throughout the whole system. At the young age of 20, Gorkys should head up to AA next season and show if he is ready for the higher level of competition.

11. Julio Teheran 17, RHP –

Julio has one of the best fastballs in the system even at just the young age of 17. He is apparently pitching at extended spring training and I would imagine be sent to Danville, with the possibility of Rome. I’ve read Josh say this and I agree with him, basically Julio can be looked at as our #1 draft pick this year since we lost ours to Glavine.

12. Brent Lillibridge(AAA) 24, SS, R/R, – 147 AB, .192/.263/.247, .509 OPS, 14 BB, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2.32 RC/27

Lillibridge has been god awful this season. He went from possibly starting if Yunel were to faulter to being out of the top 10 overall prospects on my list at least. He is still walking at a decent pace, but has troubles with sliders and hasn’t been hitting for average at all. He does have 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts though, his speed is still there.

13. Todd Redmond(AA) 23, RHP- 5-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 4.23 K/BB, 6.97 K/9, 6 HR allowed

Redmond came over in the Tyler Yates deal earlier this year. He has been solid in the system and has been the best starter with the AA club so far. His HR allowed total is alarming.

14. Brandon Jones(AAA) 24, OF, R/L- 178 AB, .258/.340/.371, .711 OPS, 22 BB, 14 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4.43 RC/27

Brandon seems to have lost a lot of his power. He could just be starting off slow, but it is already June and he has only 2 HR. He was thought to be a platoon partner with Diaz in Spring Training but Blanco quickly passed him on the Braves radar. He isn’t doing much to prove them wrong.

15. Jose Ortegano(A) 20, LHP- 2-3, 4.05 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 3.35 K/BB, 8.55 K/9, 0 HR allowed

Ortegano, the last of the many lefties at Rome has done a good job at keeping the ball in the park and is progressing at a normal pace for his age. He adds to our pitching depth that we have throughout the lower levels in our system.