bravesnumberone
Well-known member
Attendance already wasn't great, which is one of the reasons the team is moving in the first place. With Heyward, Gattis and Justin gone, expect a steep decline.
McGuirk Says Braves 'All In' On Youth Movement
- Thread starter CrimsonCowboy
- Start date
Yup.
I may well have missed it, but I don't recall either of them denying it's a complete overhaul AFTER the Upton deal got close (and it was pretty obvious to everyone) - they were scratching and clawing to maintain any leverage they had by publicly proclaiming an Upton extension was "possible" in the hopes of improving the prospect haul.
If the Braves ever fielded a 60 win team they would be lucky to draw 20k fans. I think this will be a fun team to watch and the farm has been completely revamped. Best of both worlds.
bravesnumberone
Well-known member
I don't think Nick Markakis, A.J. Piercynzki, Kelly Johnson, etc. are worth 15-20 extra wins. Not unless Angels in the Outfield is about to be real life.
If we can avoid having a decimated pitching staff and get some marginal improvement from our offensive SVODs, we could challenge for a WC spot. But we're not going to have good attendance just from having a couple extra veterans.
We still have two of the least fun players to watch in our lineup at CF and 3B, and we lost three incredibly fun players to watch, so I don't see how this team will be so much more fun. Like others have said, the farm will be more enjoyable to watch. Ya know, if these guys' arms stay attached.
Yeah - because Top 5 picks ALWAYS pan out.
1990 - Chipper #1, Tony Clark #2, Mike Lieberthal #3, Alex Fernandez #4, Kurt Miller #5, Mark Newfield #6
1991 - Brien Taylor #1, Mike Kelly #2, David McCarty #3, Dimitri Young #4, Kenny Henderson #5
and on and on until an "almost can't miss" one...
1997 - Matt Anderson #1, J. D. Drew #2, Troy Glaus #3, Jason Grilli, #4, Vernon Wells #5 - of course Drew didn't sign.
then you had...
1999 - Josh Hamilton #1, Josh Beckett #2, Eric Munson #3, Corey Myers #4, B. J. Garbe #5 - before Hamilton went on his drug binge and disappeared for years.
and a big winner the next year...
2000 - Adrian Gonzalez #1, Adam Johnson #2, Luis Montanez #3, Mike Stodolka #4, Justin Wayne #5 - when the Phillies took Utley 15th and the Braves took Wainright 29th.
a couple years later you had the scouting coup that produced...
2002 - Bryan Bullington #1, B. J. Upton #2, Chris Gruler #3, Adam Loewen #4, Clint Everts #5 - all selected before Greinke at #6, Fielder at #7, and Hamels at #17.
then onward a couple years to the impressive grouping of...
2004 - Matt Bush #1, Justin Verlander #2, Phil Humber #3, Jeff Niemann #4, Mark Rogers #5 - while Jered Weaver went 12th and Billy Butler 14th.
Even the famous 2005 draft that produced J-Up, Alex Gordon, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Andrew McCutchen, and Jay Bruce had Jeff Clement at #3 and Wade Townsend, Mike Pelfrey, and Cameron Maybin taken between Tulo and McCutchen.
Sorry to burst bubbles, but the scouting department that was in place before the front office restructuring probably had a pretty good chance at butchering a Top 5 pick. Just for kicks, everyone chime in with ALL you know about the players in bold above without leaving this page.
bravesnumberone
Well-known member
Guys with a history of arm injuries always work out, too.
Not a guarantee by any means top 5 picks work, but it helps to be able to draft earlier, if you're worried about the minors being in shambles.
Not a guarantee by any means top 5 picks work, but it helps to be able to draft earlier, if you're worried about the minors being in shambles.
rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
Only a few things came to mind:
Brian Taylor destroyed his million dollar arm in a bar fight.
Henderson was a head case who actually was advised by Boras NOT to sign in a previous draft
Bullington at least reached the majors; Gruler had only 10 games in Class A and had a 9.27 ERA
It's a strong farm now and will only get better.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
Who did we trade for that have history of arm injuries?
TJ now is like ACL injuries in football, its so common it isnt abig deal anymore.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
Made an edit smartypants.
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
Personally I still love watching Simmons play. I'm hoping Jace Peterson wins the job and starts at 2B. And we have a deep rotation, so we'll be throwing a good starter out every day which is always fun for me.
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
Thanks for the hard work on this post. Baseball draft is by far the most difficult. Tools are always tempting, but getting tools to translate at increasingly higher levels of competition is difficult to gauge, especially with the high school kids.
bravesnumberone
Well-known member
I don't disagree, but I don't think many people in the area will ride over to the stadium to watch Simba play defense in person, when they can watch it on TV. Especially when the team will likely struggle.
Gold star for Rico - correct on all 3 counts.
Which is what's always separated JS-run front offices and made their drafts so impressive - the number of high school kids taken that actually reach the upper levels of the minors and even become role players at the MLB level compared to other organizations is pretty amazing when you compare it to the rest of baseball.