nsacpi
09-01-2013, 05:06 PM
We're at the end of the defensive spectrum here and I'm going to lump them all together because some of the players play both first and outfield. There are no prospects that I would project to start in the majors as corner outfielders or first basemen.
Backups: Terdoslavich, Gattis, Victor Reyes. Three players with some upside here. Reyes doesn't show the power you need at these positions but given his age (18) has plenty of time to develop. Terdoslavich and Gattis have bats that I like a lot, even with Gattis' recent slump, but have defensive limitations.
Fringe: Elander, Mejia, Hefflinger, Rohm, Beckwith. Elander has the most potential in this group and a case could be made to put him in the backup group. It took him a while to adjust when moved up to High A, but he got going at the end. With the really top prospects, there tends to be less need for an adjustment period after a promotion.
Overview: There is no one in the group above that approaches the trio of Heyward, Justin Upton and Freeman. This reinforces the case to spend big to hold on to those three and go cheap elsewhere if necessary. Those three also made the majors at a young age, which means you can give them a long-term extension with less exposure to their declining years. One of the themes of my look at system depth is that the Braves will likely be looking for chances to go cheap at certain positions so they can hold on to Heyward, Justin Upton and Freeman. This is driven by the quality of those three players relative to internal alternatives.
Backups: Terdoslavich, Gattis, Victor Reyes. Three players with some upside here. Reyes doesn't show the power you need at these positions but given his age (18) has plenty of time to develop. Terdoslavich and Gattis have bats that I like a lot, even with Gattis' recent slump, but have defensive limitations.
Fringe: Elander, Mejia, Hefflinger, Rohm, Beckwith. Elander has the most potential in this group and a case could be made to put him in the backup group. It took him a while to adjust when moved up to High A, but he got going at the end. With the really top prospects, there tends to be less need for an adjustment period after a promotion.
Overview: There is no one in the group above that approaches the trio of Heyward, Justin Upton and Freeman. This reinforces the case to spend big to hold on to those three and go cheap elsewhere if necessary. Those three also made the majors at a young age, which means you can give them a long-term extension with less exposure to their declining years. One of the themes of my look at system depth is that the Braves will likely be looking for chances to go cheap at certain positions so they can hold on to Heyward, Justin Upton and Freeman. This is driven by the quality of those three players relative to internal alternatives.