“There’s no such thing as too much pitching” is the mantra Atlanta Braves GM meta has stated over and over again since taking over the Atlanta Braves organization in the Winter of 2034. With one season under his belt, the team has had some turbulent changes and the fanbase is aching for continued success but the team is looking at a flood of young arms coming up over the next sixteen months. This is a fanbase not used to missing the playoffs and quality pitching is always something team can depend on. To give some perspective, Atlanta’s rotation depth chart by the end of 2036, start of 2037 would look something like this:
- RHP Cesar Cruz
- RHP Hector Salas
- RHP Josef Differenz
- RHP Jesus Cruz
- RHP Chris Watkins
- RHP Ernie Chipende
- RHP Victor Ortiz
- RHP Bobby Gardner
- LHP Jonathan Taylor
- RHP Tomas Rivas
While devoid of a quality lefty arm, six of those ten pitchers are under 25 and all of them have the ability to be major league level starters. As the Braves enter a retooling period, look for the organization to continue to preach the fortunes of good pitching at the top, strong defense in support and timely hitting to get the job done. It’s a formula many in the majors are no strangers to and Atlanta hopes to lean heavily on their arms as they enter the second year of being under new management.
2035 Finish: 82-80, third in NL East
2036 Prediction: 76-86, fourth in NL East
Key Departures:
Any talk about departures would be remiss if it didn’t mention the large amount of selling Atlanta did at the 2035 trade deadline. Throughout the season, Atlanta leadership made no secret that they were shopping their best players and looking to possibly put their own spin on a team that had won consistent playoff births but left watching from the sidelines come World Series time.
Sitting a few spots out from a Wild Card spot, the first shots were fired and the rest were right behind. SP Jeff Parsons was the first casualty, heading to contenders Minnesota for three promising prospects headlined by 21-year-old RF Juan Carlos Matos and featuring the return of Atlanta legend SP Esteban Carrillo as a cashdump.
Four hours later, the next trade would fall into place, sending team ace SP Jose Chavez to Milwaukee with Atlanta retaining sixty percent of Chavez’s contract in exchange for a combination of young prospects with 19-year-old phenom third-baseman Mauro Valverde being the highlight, a nearly ready starting pitcher in Jonathan Taylor and a cash dump of veteran left-fielder Bob Douglas.
Atlanta made another move thirty minutes later, sending bullpen piece Pat Blair to Toronto for a 19-year-old project piece Ivan Melenez.
But there was one more slavo to be fired in Atlanta and it would come three hours later with two-way star Jing-bo Liao heading to Texas with Atlanta retaining fifty-five percent on his contract. In return, Atlanta got two younger prospects with starting pitcher Raul Cruz being the key feature, a young major league arm in Bobby Gardner and a 2036 second round pick.
The speed and timing of these deals, right at the deadline and with Atlanta sitting in a playoff position, spoke volumes to the fanbase and sports talk radio was given new life for the foreseeable future as the ATL loyalists were quick to voice their concern and bemusement at these deals.
What might get lost in the chaos of supporter response is that Atlanta moved assets for pieces that can help them in 2036 and assets that will be integrated into the major league rosters annually for the next two to three years. Players like Juan Carlos Matos, Jake O’Slattery, Arturo Gallegos, Bobby Gardner and Jonathan Taylor should all feature in the majors during this coming 2036 season. Projecting the younger pieces out, Mauro Valverde looks to be a top level hitting prospect that could be in the majors by 2038 and you would think Raul Cruz is in the rotation plans for 2039.
As the 2035 offseason arrived, the fanbase would be in for a few more surprises as team legend and future hall-of-fame catcher Jesus Estrada would not be extended after the organization messed up his contract negotiations on the eve of free agency filing. Likewise, star shortstop Ed White would not even see negotiations begin as he was informed management would be taking the team in a different direction and he would be released to free agency.
- SP Jeff Parsons (3.88 fip 2.78 war)
- SP Jose Chavez (2.42 fip 5.34 war)
- SP Jing-bo Liao (4.14 FIP 2.19 war 844 ops 123 wRC+ 1.43 war)
- C Jesus Estrada (901 ops 146 wRC+ 5.97 war)
- SS Ed White (712 ops 94 wRC+ 3.7 war)
Key Additions:
After the selling and releases during the 2035 trade deadline and early 2035 offseason, Atlanta seemed poised to make some moves to shore up positions. Although additions were made in the trades mentioned previously, most of those players will not be discussed here as they will see further discussion under the farm and prospects portion.
Between the Parsons, Chavez and Liao trades, Atlanta added some pieces they felt would perform them immediately. Third-baseman Arturo Gallegos was the first to make his mark, arriving from Atlanta in the Parsons trade. Gallegos would play a month or so in Gwinnett before receiving his callup in early September and immediately establishing his bat in the majors. Gallegos poisted a 308/375/492 slashline in 18 games with the Braves. Arriving in the same deal, starting pitcher Bobby Henderson would also see two starts before being sent to Gwinnett to finish the year and gain some more polish. Atlanta sees both as players who can contribute to the club in 2036, with Gallegos in particular expected to see significant playing time at third-base throughout the season. Henderson might start the 2036 year down in AAA as he still has struggles with control but his dominant stuff guarantees it will only be a matter of time before he returns to the Atlanta clubhouse, possibly in a bullpen role.
Lefty starting pitcher Jonathan Taylor arrived from Milwaukee in the Chavez and, though still only 24, with over 300 innings of major league experience, all of them starts. His Atlanta story didn’t start out quite so well as Taylor struggled, posting a 5.71 fip and negative war. However, Atlanta sees Taylor as a strong arm and I would expect Taylor to feature out of the bullpen day one for Atlanta with eyes on him being a back rotation piece by year’s end.
Coming in the Liao trade with Texas, starting pitcher Bobby Gardner was immediately inserted into Atlanta’s rotation and saw some success for the ball club. His saw his fip drop from his time in Texas and posted positive war in eleven starts for the Braves. Expect Gardner to begin 2036 in the ATL rotation, possibly in the 4th slot as he continues to establish himself in his new environment.
Atlanta had one more trade up their sleeve though it was a very different kind of trade, adding starting pitcher Hector Salas from the Dodgers along with a 2nd round pick in the 2036 Amateur Draft. Though the trade first appeared like a standard cash dump on Los Angeles’ part, Atlanta was quick to extend the thirty-three year old Salas to a four-year deal at a significant discount to his previous contract. Though late in his years as a starting pitcher, it appears Atlanta sees some value in Salas in the future plans.
Stepping away from the additions made via trades, the team was active in free agency from the very beginning. First the Braves added some veteran leadership, inking third-baseman Kris Bryant to a one-year deal. General consensus is the Bryant offers a strong clubhouse presence and the ability to platoon Gallegos versus left-handed starting pitchers. Starting pitcher Ernie Chipende would then receive a three-year deal and will immediately go into the middle of the Atlanta rotation. The team quickly to be followed Chipende by signing veteran bat Jorge Nava who looks to be their everyday designated hitter and then reliever Alfredo Leon, a relative unknown who put his signature on a five-year deal with the Braves. Management in Georgia sees Leon as long term reinforcements to their bullpen. A middle infielder in Miguel Angel Santos got a one-year deal to shore up the bench and provide stellar defense before the final piece was locked down. Top pitching free agent Cesar Cruz was signed to a five-year deal and conventional thinking sees him as the Braves new ace for the coming seasons.
- SP Bobby Gardner
- SP Hector Salas
- SP Ernie Chipende
- SP Cesar Cruz
- RP Bobby Henderson
- RP Jonathan Taylor
- RP Alfredo Leon
- 1B Jorge Nava
- 3B Arturo Gallegos
- 3B Kris Bryant
- SS Miguel Angel Santos
Strengths:
The biggest area of quality looks to be the bullpen. Last year the team was no stranger to the bullpen bailing them out in rough situations brought on by poor starting pitching and this year appears no different. The issue of constant base runners from 2035 will be something to pay close attention to over the course of 2036.
Projected Lineup:
1B Hun-ho Kang
3B Arturo Gallegos
LF Bohemond Shamilova
DH Jorge Nava
RF Joe Ellis
2B Toby McGowan
C Nate Miller
CF Ben Miller
SS Doug Franklin
Nothing too surprising here as Atlanta will rely on the dependable Kang to lead this rather bland batting order of Who is He and Has Beens. Young guys like Gallegos and Franklin will have a lot riding on them to not put up sub-575 ops and Gallegos in particular will be the focus of a lot of attention, hitting second and looking to continue his early success from 2035. Nava will offer the power and eye that he’s been known for but the game quickly unravels behind him as the Braves trot out five players afterwards that don’t seem to give much in terms of hitting. Eyes of all Atlanta fans will be looking down in Gwinnett and Mississippi for support come June, let me tell you.
Project Rotation:
SP Cesar Cruz
SP Hector Salas
SP Ernie Chipende
SP Bobby Gardner
SP Tomas Rivas
What starts out as a surprisingly decent rotation with Cruz and Salas quickly turns sour as unknowns like Gardner and Rivas close out while average pitcher Chipende sits in the middle. Not the rotation of a top 15 team, the Braves will need to rely on stellar defense and situational pitching to hopefully support the back three-fifths of their rotation and the mantra in the dugout will be “Don’t Blow It.” Smart pitching and timely hitting will sink or swim in the sea of sharks that is the NL East.
Projection Bullpen:
SU Juan Garcia
SU Dan Holley
MR Jonathan Taylor
MR Alfredo Leon
MR Kurt Sheppard
MR Bobby Henderson
LS Rob Meade
Atlanta seems poised to begin the year with the double setup, no closer bullpen. Juan Garcia looks to hold down the key spot with top prospect Dan Holley looking to serve in the other setup role. At the heart of the bullpen, new additions Jonathan Taylor, Bobby Henderson and Alfredo Leon join Kurt Sheppard and Rob Meade. Not the strongest of bullpens, with one or two key arms and the rest looking more like filler than dependable arms. With the back half of the Braves rotation looking rather uninspiring, it will fall on these middle relievers to rack up innings and limit the damage until Atlanta can call upon their hopefuls in Garcia and Holley.
Farm Review:
Between the trades at the end of 2035 and one draft under the belt of this new management group, Atlanta doesn’t have many ELITE level prospects but there are some hopes in the collection of youngsters. Pitching is the obvious surplus with 10-12 arms projected to be of major league quality, headlined by 2035 first-round draft pick Eddie Moss and the rest of the Braves 2035 draft class including Josef Differenz, Jeff Flowers and Jesus Cruz. Likewise, Atlanta spent big in the international amateur window grabbing starting pitcher Jose Lopes and third-baseman Jesus Navarro, both projected with major league potential.
The 2034 draft class from the previous administration offers a few glimpses of promise with starting pitcher Chris Wright and left-fielder Dan Adkins being the clear highlights. Starting pitcher Chris Watkins also has some promise. Looking younger, the Braves put a lot of stock in the future of catcher Jesus Luyanda, third-baseman Mauro Valverde and starting pitcher Raul Cruz. All three are long-term projects.
Nearly Ready:
- SP Victor Ortiz
- SP Chris Watkins
- SP Jesus Cruz
- 3B Jim Ferris
- RF Juan Carlos Matos
- LF Jake O’Slattery
- LF Dan Atkins
A Year Away:
- SP Josef Differenz
- SP Jeff Flowers
- SP Eddie Moss
- SP Clint Cross
- RP Razan Fujii
- RP Nate Martin
Two to Three Out:
- SP Ivan Melendez
- SP Chris Wright
- SP Billy Galloway
- SP Ben Murray
- C Jesus Luyanda
- 2B Cesar Garcia
- 3B Mauro Valverde
- SS Pancho Martinez
- CF Rob Case
- RF Bill Owens
Long-term Project:
- SP Jose Lopes
- SP Jorge Baca
- SP Aurelio Romero
- SP Do-hyung Park
- SP Raul Cruz
- C Robert Riina
- 3B Jesus Navarro
- 3B Steve Tate
- CF Rob Wilson
Conclusion:
While there is a lot to like about this Braves organization, the team is clearly a project in the early stages. There are promising signs throughout each level of their minors as well as some confusing decisions on the part of management, particularly in the extension area. Regardless of how the team performs in 2036, there are signs and arrows in the near future that point upwards. But this is a team in a challenging division, surrounded by quality squads that will not see any threat from new management in the ATL. Quality drafting, smart money moves and possibly finding a diamond or two will go a long way towards returning this team to the playoffs and hopefully ending that World Series drought. But for 2035, one thing is certain.
Atlanta is so bad
