We don't have a prospect in the minors who projects as a starting major league centerfielder. We have three who project as reserves/platoon players.

Backups: Cunningham, Wren, Lipka. Cunningham is a switch hitter, Wren a lefty, Lipka a righty, which sets up a variety of platoon possibilities. Of the three, Wren seems to have the best baserunning and defensive instincts. But his success so far has come against opposition that is for the most part significantly younger than he is.

Fringe: Lien, Morel, Livesay, Mycal Jones. Lien struggled at age 19 in Danville. Morel and Livesay had some success in the GCL at age 19. Lien showed some power but did not make enough contact. Morel and Livesay have decent contact skills but show little power. Such is the world of fringe prospects. Mycal Jones is an older player who was going nowhere in Mississippi. Until putting together two very good months in July and August. I put him on the fringe list because of that. Maybe he figured out something. More likely just a hot streak that he won't sustain.

Conclusion: We have BJ Upton under contractual control for four years and Schafer for three years. But this is obviously a position to have some concern about. We are spending a lot of money on BJ for very little production. As for Schafer, his recent struggles call into question whether he has really turned the corner. The Braves are a franchise that has to go cheap at a few positions. We can't have big, long-term contracts at every spot in the lineup. We have some talent at center that lend themselves to a cheap platoon-type arrangement. We have a similar possibility at second (La Stella-Pastornicky). The financial constraints suggest the Braves will be looking for ways to move Uggla and BJ Upton so that they can spend elsewhere. However, their ability to do this will depend upon those two guys turning in some better performances.