Is Raiding the Indy League a bad thing?

rico43

rico43

<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
Since Ian Thomas came up and contributed (a little) this year, I have embraced the Braves embrace of Indy league players. Now, some of these guys were UFA from this summer's draft who fell through the cracks and aren't really retreads. But there is quite a laundry list of comings and goings of second-chance guys.

But the sheer numbers stunned me. There can't be another team in MLB with these kind of numbers. Obviously, mostly pitchers, but the Braves have grabbed position players over the years. (Chris Garcia was particularly useful for two seasons)

GWINNETT
Carlos Fisher
James Hoyt
Daniel Rodriguez
Ata Severino
Zach Stewart
Kaneoka Texiera
Ian Thomas
Mark Hamilton
Sean Kazmar
Brandon Boggs

MISSISSIPPI
David Bromberg (DL or released, not sure)
Brandon Cunniff
Terry Doyle (may have gone straight from WSox to Braves)
Ryan Kelly
half-dozen minor league free agents!

LYNCHBURG
Cody Scarpetta
Blair Walters (newest)
Daniel Watts
Jose Martinez
David Nick
Wes Parsons
Bloxom cut by Nationals, Ahrens minor league FA

ROME
Pete Perez
Ross Wilson

DANVILLE
Dustin Emmons (undrafted)
Colby Holmes

ALREADY CUT
A.J. Kirby-Jones
Chris Constantino
Race Parmenter
Eric Pfisterer
Eric Berger
Andy Simunic
Tyler Greene
Kameron Loe

The list shocked me, the more I wrote down....Might have missed a couple, and
 
Janas was our 6th round pick in 2013. Jorge Reyes and Cody Fassold came in trades.

I don't mind the Braves doing this, but I think it shows a couple of things and one of those things is troubling. To me, it shows we aren't drafting/developing that well. Maybe it's temporary, but we've got a lot of guys logging a lot of IPs/ABs from this route.

Second, these guys are, for the most part, roster fillers with low ceilings. Harsh judgment coming from someone who had to hang it up when the pitch velocity cracked the low-80s, but I'm not looking for that much from most of these guys. Ross Wilson--who appears to be a stabilizing influence in Rome--is case in point. 25 years old and has played in a higher league. Doing well in Rome (and playing all over the infield), but what is more important to the system: winning a couple more games in Rome or developing one of your own guys who may have a higher ceiling? Gerald Chin has played some since his promotion and Omar Obregon has been playing well in Danville. Again, I don't see these guys every day and I'll leave the decisions of who is playing and at what level to the guys who have dedicated their lives to this process. But it does seem odd (and a little counterproductive) to me.

I think you could add Wes Parsons to the list. Like Emmons, he was a guy who simply went undrafted and decided to sign instead of entering college or continuing a college career.
 
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