I think its a smaller thing in the context of baseball.
I understand what you are saying, but there is such a thing as being too clever.
I would not have promoted Swanson last season, but my reason would have been that he was scuffling in AA, not that he should be held down another year (why not two?) to maximize future returns.
I would not start Soroka in the majors because he'll be 20 with little experience above AA. And I'd hold him down as long as it seemed feasible. But when you starting thinking about -- well will the Braves really contend in 2018, maybe it would be better to hold him until June 2019 you start losing me.
At the end of the day, I am also not sure that I believe that utility of these decisions ultimately amounts to a ton. Between players that don't pan out, players that sign extensions, players that excel and hit arbitration, players that are traded, injured, etc., these things are not likely to be that important. Do the little things well, sure, but don't run your organization obsessing over it. At the end of the day, the purpose of the organization is to sell tickets to fans. I see that sentiment from some on here and disagree with it sometimes, but ultimately they are correct. That's the point. When a team like the Braves are rebuilding like they are, I think its better to pull the bandaid and embrace it. But when you step out of that phase (and I think next year is probably the target) you should start operating like a baseball club again.
When I say next year is the target (maybe it should be 2019), I just mean a change in focus from prioritizing prospects to prioritizing the produce at the MLB level. I could certainly see the argument for one more year of stopgaps and sell offs at the deadline though.
