2013 Atlanta Braves and Core WAR

[KB21]

I glanced quickly at the forum and didn't see anything about this posted, so forgive me if I have missed this somewhere.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-2013-atlanta-braves-and-core-war/


In fact, it was another club from the 2013 post-season that seemed to be getting historical production from their youth core— The Atlanta Braves.

The Braves yongsters enjoyed over 27 WAR on the merits of their 18 to 25 year olds, far more than any other team this season. Only the Diamondbacks came remotely close to this astounding figure, and their core WAR of just 15 wins still pales in comparison.

The majority of this came from Freddie Freeman (4.8), Andrelton Simmons (4.7), Mike Minor (3.4), Jason Heyward (3.4), and Justin Upton (3.2). Craig Kimbrell is included in this, but his WAR wasn't listed.

Outside of Justin Upton, these are home grown talents for the Braves as well. I guess the long term question is whether the Braves can keep this core together or not?

[nsacpi]

No doubt this team has a tremendous core of young players. The most important decisions this franchise will be making the next few years will involve which of these young players to hang on to and which to allow to leave as they get too expensive or hit free agency.

[Enscheff]

I think Simmons has to be the first to sign long term. His defense should remain elite for a long time, defense is generally undervalued as far as salary goes, and his bat should improve over time.

[KB21]

Jason Heyward is also a guy who needs to be discussed. He's been better than his standard stats indicate. The guy was a 3.4 WAR this year and missed a good portion of time. He was the team's best right fielder and center fielder from a defensive standpoint. His LD% went up and his K% went down. His HRC% also went down some.

The thing with him is that there is this feeling that he could be even better. He was the victim of a low BABIP this past year. The question is, do you try to get him to resign now or do you wait till he blows up, and then sign him for a lot more?

[Tapate50]

Jason Heyward is also a guy who needs to be discussed. He's been better than his standard stats indicate. The guy was a 3.4 WAR this year and missed a good portion of time. He was the team's best right fielder and center fielder from a defensive standpoint. His LD% went up and his K% went down. His HRC% also went down some.

The thing with him is that there is this feeling that he could be even better. He was the victim of a low BABIP this past year. The question is, do you try to get him to resign now or do you wait till he blows up, and then sign him for a lot more?

He is debated at great lengths on this forum. He is a good player. He has some red flags (injuries) and has yet to put it all together.

[The Chosen One]

In fairness, I think Zito first mentioned this in another thread.

Awesome stuff though.

[Heyward]

He is debated at great lengths on this forum. He is a good player. He has some red flags (injuries) and has yet to put it all together.

He's what, 23?

Which is why they should of signed him to a longterm deal years ago, if/when he puts it all together, he could get a monster contract elsewhere.

That's probably 2-3 years from hitting his prime.

Regards to the core, we'll probably lose some guys, but it takes two to tango, it's already been reported Freddie and Jason supposedly turned down longterm deals.

How much, is yet to be known though.

His injuries this year were unlucky, getting his in the jaw with a baseball, and forgot the other surgery.

But would try to sign him this offseason as well as some others, doubt he accepts though.

You also said there wasn't much of a dropoff from Schafer to Heyward, lol.