Is There Anyone Out There...

[clvclv]

Seriously questioning the strategy behind the rebuild???

YOUNG pitching galore that can be traded - if need be - and some interesting bats getting closer. PLENTY of money to spend to fill holes.

[Hudson2]

Our minors are ridiculous. The pitching we have coming over the next 3-4 years is unparalleled imo. If we can get say JJ Swartz or another top end bat in the draft next year we'll be in even better shape. I'm ready to see Maitan next year too.

[KB21]

There probably are some still questioning the plan, but they shouldn't be.

[bravesfanMatt]

We have some guys who may be hard to remove when we finally get healthy. This off season will be interesting.

[KB21]

We have some guys who may be hard to remove when we finally get healthy. This off season will be interesting.

You know who is going to be hard to move?

Brian Snitker

With the way he has this team playing, essentially ever since he took over for Fredi, I don't know how he wouldn't be the leading candidate for the job right now. The guy is simply in tune with his players from an emotional standpoint.

[GovClintonTyree]

There probably are some still questioning the plan, but they shouldn't be.

I mean, it's done. No use saying I would have done it differently. But I certainly would've. I don't think that the franchise was in such disrepair that it all needed to be blown up. Many of steps that have been taken - the change in leadership, the investment in scouting and heavy investment in international spending (for instance, Maitan and his five buddies) - could have been undertaken without blowing up the ML roster.

Having said that, I really didn't like was the "rebuild on the fly" crap they started out attempting. That's no man's land. Either you're in or you're out. We're out, and thankfully the Three Johns didn't actually try a half-ass rebuild, even if their words indicated they were. Ultimately, one of the primary indicators of success is simply numbers. How many new guys do you have? Cause most are going to wash out, and you just need numbers to make up for that.

You can say "our farm is sick" or laud every new body Coppy brings in, but the fact of the matter is, we don't know if it's going to work or not. For every Houston or Pittsburgh or KC there's....well, a Houston or KC or Pittsburgh. These things rarely work out with the first incarnation. Those teams were in the hole a long, LONG time before they cobbled together winners.

[ixiXSolidXixi]

I am not a 100% sold that we should take JJ Swartz. We can draft Mark Vientos that is compared to Manny Machado. Next year Bullpen is going to be nasty! We may have one of the best bullpens in the majors.

Vizcaino
Cabrera
Simmons
Krol
Minter
Ramirez
Withrow
Paco
Plus

[zitothebrave]

There probably are some still questioning the plan, but they shouldn't be.

Why? Is the BRaves plan above questioning? Braves went with their plan of getting a ton of arms and hoping a lot of them pan out. If they do, it will be amazing. If they fail, it will be another long rebuild.

Thankfully we got Swanson. Getting Swanson was a huge coup and could be a foundation for which we build our team around. After him though things get dicey in our position prospect. Mallex and Ozzie have some heavy value with their game, but they're pieces players. Ozzie being a hitter tool and defensive whiz but with patience and power issues, Mallex also has shown issues with power, but his K rate is concerning. They've got value, they'll likely be our 1/2 punch for some time, but they're not guys who will carry you similar to Heyward/Freeman or Chipper/Justice.

[ixiXSolidXixi]

Thats why i say we should draft Mark Vientos. We can have that 1-2 punch in Vientos/Maitan.

[auyushu]

Why? Is the BRaves plan above questioning? Braves went with their plan of getting a ton of arms and hoping a lot of them pan out. If they do, it will be amazing. If they fail, it will be another long rebuild.

Seriously. I've been mostly happy with the majority of the moves they've made during the rebuild, but acting like it's some major success at this point is pretty ridiculous. We have a ton of arms but not all that much in the way of offense. And our top pitching talent is in A ball or below, acting like any of them is a sure thing to help us at this point is crazy premature. I have high hopes for quite a number of them, but fairly crazy to call the rebuild a success at this juncture.

And people acting like we are going to be able to trade for the bats we need with pitching are kinda ignoring reality a bit. For all the talk about how valuable pitching was at the deadline, only one top hitting prospect got moved for pitching at the deadline, and that was for a Miller, a relief pitcher. Teams are still hanging on the young quality hitting as hard as they can, we are most likely going to have to draft our own or sign some expensive free agents. And meanwhile we have around 30 mil a year tied up in Kemp and Markakis, so the later part is unlikely to happen.

[ixiXSolidXixi]

Funny that last year in fangraph Kiley Mcdaniels post this:

Mark Vientos (17.5), SS, Flanagan HS (FL), Miami (FL) commit: Vientos is aged like a 2018 prospect but even if he was a year older, he may still be the top player in this class. He’s a 6’3/170 shortstop with a chance to stick at the position and a broad base of precocious skills that led one scout to mention Manny Machado. Vientos turned 15 in late December and has to be considered alongside 2016-eligible Venezuelans SS Kevin Maitan and C Abraham Gutierrez as the top players in the world at that age.

[mqt]

Thats why i say we should draft Mark Vientos. We can have that 1-2 punch in Vientos/Maitan.

Keep in mind with this that Vientos' star has faded rather significantly over the past two years. He's still young enough to break out and become a 1-1 type, but he's currently behind his peers.

[auyushu]

Vientos seems to have dropped a bit on most of the lists I saw this year, haven't seen him mentioned as a top 3-4 player much, mostly a 5-8 guy. Greene, Kendall, Schwarz and the college arms seem to be more on the top of most lists. Long way to go from now until then of course. One think for sure is that it seems a pretty solid top 10, so no matter where we end up it looks like we should be able to grab a solid player.

[ixiXSolidXixi]

Any one else things that the Braves they should over pay for Kenley Jansen and try to trade him at the trade deadline?

[KB21]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft...medium=twitter

Good article on potential 1-1 candidate in LHP D L Hall, who is a local kid.

[zitothebrave]

Seriously. I've been mostly happy with the majority of the moves they've made during the rebuild, but acting like it's some major success at this point is pretty ridiculous. We have a ton of arms but not all that much in the way of offense. And our top pitching talent is in A ball or below, acting like any of them is a sure thing to help us at this point is crazy premature. I have high hopes for quite a number of them, but fairly crazy to call the rebuild a success at this juncture.

And people acting like we are going to be able to trade for the bats we need with pitching are kinda ignoring reality a bit. For all the talk about how valuable pitching was at the deadline, only one top hitting prospect got moved for pitching at the deadline, and that was for a Miller, a relief pitcher. Teams are still hanging on the young quality hitting as hard as they can, we are most likely going to have to draft our own or sign some expensive free agents. And meanwhile we have around 30 mil a year tied up in Kemp and Markakis, so the later part is unlikely to happen.

And I think having top talent arms far off is the key to success. I think the best things the BRaves can do is kind of emulate the Rays. Trade off your pitching when they're getting expensive and replace them with prospects. I think packaging pitching for hitting won't work though. I discussed this before, but assuming that our guys develop the way to go is move guys like Julio, Blair, FOlty, etc. for top returns and keep it going.

Looking (again) at the Rays they unloaded so many players to deepen their farm.

[mqt]

Any one else things that the Braves they should over pay for Kenley Jansen and try to trade him at the trade deadline?

I would never consider signing a premium FA for the sole purpose of flipping him that year. He's going to cost a lot of money and years.

[Enscheff]

Seriously. I've been mostly happy with the majority of the moves they've made during the rebuild, but acting like it's some major success at this point is pretty ridiculous. We have a ton of arms but not all that much in the way of offense. And our top pitching talent is in A ball or below, acting like any of them is a sure thing to help us at this point is crazy premature. I have high hopes for quite a number of them, but fairly crazy to call the rebuild a success at this juncture.

And people acting like we are going to be able to trade for the bats we need with pitching are kinda ignoring reality a bit. For all the talk about how valuable pitching was at the deadline, only one top hitting prospect got moved for pitching at the deadline, and that was for a Miller, a relief pitcher. Teams are still hanging on the young quality hitting as hard as they can, we are most likely going to have to draft our own or sign some expensive free agents. And meanwhile we have around 30 mil a year tied up in Kemp and Markakis, so the later part is unlikely to happen.

Wisler, Sims and Newcomb failing to progress this year really, really, hurt the rebuild (as did Swanson sputtering), and set it back at least 1 more season. I can almost envision the FO meetings where they circle jerked over a 2017 rotation consisting of Julio, Folty, Wisler, one of Sims/Newcomb, plus a FA vet thrown in the 3/4 slot for good measure.

Now all they really have is Julio and Folty, which probably made it clear to them that contending in 2017 is a fantasy. Knowing they can't compete in 2017 is likely what prompted them to even consider trading Teheran, and settling on Kemp rather than going after a more expensive higher impact player for LF.

[Enscheff]

But to be clear, I do not question the decision to rebuild. The Braves dodged two HUGE bullets letting Heyward and JUpton go.

[Ozzie Swanson]

But to be clear, I do not question the decision to rebuild. The Braves dodged two HUGE bullets letting Heyward and JUpton go.

Agreed. People can question the decision to rebuild and how the front office has gone about the process but there is no question that we have dodged bullets by deciding to get rid of JHey, JUpton, Gattis, and others. Even if the things we got in return weren't the best we have still done a good job rebuilding our farm system and avoided giving crippling salaries to aging/struggling players (besides Markakis who has still performed at a fairly average level).