- STARTS TODAY AT 7PM - 2016 June Amateur Draft Discussion

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bravesfanMatt said:
a fair trade can still be a win. We need hitting and have pitching. We trade pitching for hitting is a win if it is not an over pay to get hitting.
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Fair point. I do have what seems to be a minority opinion around here on the issue of whether we have a surplus of starting pitching.
 
nsacpi said:
Fair point. I do have what seems to be a minority opinion around here on the issue of whether we have a surplus of starting pitching.
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Even if you don't agree the team has surplus pitching, surely you agree they have much more pitching than hitting. Further, you must agree that the offensive talent in the organization is not good enough to compete for the postseason, no matter how long those few position talents are allowed to mature.

So positional talent must be brought in from outside the organization. I think the Braves can realistically fix 2 positions via FA, but they will have to fix at least 1 spot via trade. It makes sense to deal from a position of strength to address a weakness, so that means trading pitching for offense.
 
Enscheff said:
Even if you don't agree the team has surplus pitching, surely you agree they have much more pitching than hitting. Further, you must agree that the offensive talent in the organization is not good enough to compete for the postseason, no matter how long those few position talents are allowed to mature.

So positional talent must be brought in from outside the organization. I think the Braves can realistically fix 2 positions via FA, but they will have to fix at least 1 spot via trade. It makes sense to deal from a position of strength to address a weakness, so that means trading pitching for offense.
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Disagree due to significantly higher attrition rates for pitchers. Also I suspect I rate our position prospects higher than the consensus around here.
 
nsacpi said:
I had the same reaction. I don't think the Yankees are the type of franchise that is willing to sacrifice assets like that in order to get rid of a bad contract.
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Maybe not. But, if not, the principal is still sound. You look for a team that falls out of the race and has some bad contracts to move and has some reasonably close position players that they "could" make available.

I was thinking the Yanks would go heavy after Strasbourg after 2016, but that's now off the table. They may panic and things get really weird.
 
nsacpi said:
Disagree due to significantly higher attrition rates for pitchers. Also I suspect I rate our position prospects higher than the consensus around here.
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If you do it my way, then the only pitcher you trade is Teheran. But, it also means you have to churn guys like Freeman, Markakis and Inciarte. Markakis isn't going to be around when the team is good again anyway, so no loss long term. Inciarte and Mallex won't both play in the same outfield on a good team. One or the other needs to claim CF and I'm willing to go with trading Inciarte and playing Mallex there, especially if you get a Dahl back in trade and with Acuna playing well.

So, then it comes down to Freeman. He's a little light in the power department for a 1B, which is an issue for the Braves of today and near term. He plays reasonably good defense but isn't a gold glove guy. He has had wrist problems. His peak value, age wise, is right now and next year. By the time the Braves can legitimately expect to contend at the earliest, 2018, he will be 29 and beginning the decline from his peak age value. He also gets expensive next year at $20.5M. His 29 YO comp is $21M, 30 & 31 is $22M. If he can bring you back 2-3 very good prospects who have a chance to be as good or better AND you shed his current and future salary, allowing you to apply that money elsewhere, then I think it is a necessity to maximize the rebuild.
 
Bravesfannchar said:
Well if we suck next year, good chance we can get Seth Beer in the 2018 draft... If he declares after JR season...
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I'd say that's an absolute lock, but after Beer randomly took himself out of the draft picture for no reason, I'm putting nothing past him.
 
I'm not opposed to trading pitchers or for power hitters but for me such trades have to satisfy the same valuation criteria any other trade would have to. Catcher is the only position where I would bend the valuation criteria slightly.
 
nsacpi said:
I'm not opposed to trading pitchers or for power hitters but for me such trades have to satisfy the same valuation criteria any other trade would have to. Catcher is the only position where I would bend the valuation criteria slightly.
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I'm not suggesting the Braves trade for power just for the sake of adding power. I am suggesting the Braves trade for impact hitters, and those hitters almost always have above average power. An OF of Smith/Inciarte/Markakis will have zero power, and that OF will also contain zero impact hitters. Yes, they may be good players, but the offense will be terrible.

I advocate adding good players in guys like Cervelli and Prado/Freese, but the team needs an impact hitter in the OF that can legitimately hit in the middle of a batting order. The only FAs that qualify are Ces and Bautista, both of which are most likely too expensive. There are a few options on the trade market, and since the Braves can't aflord to trade any positional talent except Mallex or Inciarte, they will most likely have to let go of some pitching to bring in a bat.
 
I saw the Braves met with Lewis today. I'm hoping he's there at 3 but I'm starting to think he's gonna be gone before we pick.
 
I saw that. So if Lewis goes #1. Who would you see falling to 3 and who would be your pick? Groome and Senzel would be my 2 choices with Pint a very close 3.
 
The top three picks almost have the feel of Let's Make a Deal.

Door No. 1: A.J. Puk, LHP, U. of Florida. Although his name reminds me somewhat of A.J. Zapp, one of the Braves historic flameouts at No. 1, on the merits he is a guy who could take his place alongside the growing deck of aces immediately. Puk (6-7, 230) is an corn-fed Iowa native who has refined his tools to have a slider to go with his mid-90s fastball instead of a looping curve. His "crimial record" sounds more lie a dare, as he and a teammate slipped onto a contruction site and climbed a crane. One of the best recommendations for Puk: Keith Law did not have him among his top 10 a month ago.

Door No. 2: OF Kyle Lewis (6-4, 195): Hard to believe the Snellville native was undrafted out of high school. But his rise has been historic and each evaluation sounds better than the one before. One scout called him a right-handed Heyward at the plate. Hard to ignore 17 homers in your back yard if he sinks to No. 3.

Door No. 3: Something in the box: among those who have been a No. 1 pick in some mock draft, somewhere ... LHP Jason Groome (6-6, 220), his pinpoint control had him nearly a consensus No. 1 earlier in the season. ... Riley Pint (6-4, 195), has hit 98 on the gun and has been unbeatable. ... OF Corey Ray (5-11, 170) The athlete as an outfielder. Lefty hitter rates as superb in any defensive OF role with surprising pop. ... OF Blake Rutherford (6-3, 190, projects to 210) the draft's best high school hitter, but can the Braves sway a California kid?
 
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