The Tradability Scale

This is the first time I have tried something like this so it may be somewhat hit and miss. I set out with the intention of creating a Braves ‘No-Trade’ List basically the Braves that simply could not be traded because of importance to the team, contract or potential. I have ended up with the 15 least tradeable Braves in my opinion (which is crucial), for each I’ll give a brief overview of their numbers, any interesting additional information and then my reasoning for their position. I hope you enjoy and that my opinion will cause some debate or interest. So without further ado the first ever ‘Braves Tradability Scale’

1. Brian McCann, Catcher

McCann has been a key contributor to the Braves since his promotion to the team in 2005 when in 59 games Mac hit .278 with 5 homers, the first in his second Major League game and one more memorable one in his first play-off at-bat off Roger Clemens. In 2005 Brian also became John Smoltz’s personal catcher, a year Smoltz went 14-7 with a 3.06 ERA. In his five full big league seasons Mac has been an All-Star in all 5 including an All-Star MVP award for his three RBI appearance in the NL’s 3-1 victory in 2010, its first since 1996. McCann has a career batting average of .289 with a .360 OBP and 112 career home runs. Oh yeah, he only just turned 27. I have Heap at number one because of all the reasons I mentioned in the intro; he is the most important player on the team for both his hitting and his leadership, he is under contract for two more years for a combined $15 million with a £12 million option for 2013 and projects to hit at least .280 with 20 home runs for maybe the next five years. In short Mac is to the Braves what Jason Varitek is to the Red Sox, only better.

2. Jason Heyward, Outfielder

It was tempting to have Heyward at the top spot of this list but Heap has five years of consistent production on J-Hey who has only just completed an inconsistent rookie campaign. Like McCann Heyward began his career with a loud bang when he crushed Carlos Zambrano’s inside fastball over Turner Field’s right field wall on Opening Day. It seemed pre-ordained that Heyward would be a star and, for the majority of 2010, he was ending up with rookie numbers of .277/.393/.456 and 18 home runs. Heyward signed a one year $496,500 contract in the off season which, whilst it is still the highest number given to a Braves player with only one year’s service, should prove to be a bargain for the Braves if Heyward produces the way he is predicted to. In Heyward the Braves could well have the next baseball superstar knowing he will be very affordable for maybe the next three years. Keeping Heyward locked up proves the Braves commitment to winning and he should be the basis of a competitive team for the next decade.

3. Dan Uggla, Second Base

There are two reasons that the teams new second baseman is so high on this list; he is new and his brand new contract. Uggla arrived in the trade with the Marlins that sent utility man Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn after being one of the most productive power hitting right handed hitters in the game. In five big league seasons Uggla has hit 154 home runs, hitting less than 30 only once that was in his rookie season when he hit 27. The contract Uggla signed with the Braves will tie him to the organisation for its duration after his was signed for five years at $62 million dollars, making him the highest paid second baseman in baseball. The last two years of the contract may prove to be a gamble for the Braves but the front office will be hoping that Dan maintains his power output and fills the power hitting role the Braves need in the middle of the line-up.

4. Julio Teheran, Pitcher

Is it realistic to have someone who is still to throw a pitch above AA ball as one of the least tradable players in the organisation? In the case of Julio Teheran yes it is. The 20-year-old Colombian is rated as one of the best prospects in all of baseball and in many places the best pitching prospect and regularly draws comparisons to a young Pedro Martinez. He pitched at three levels of Minor League ball in 2010, starting the year in Single-A Rome before moving up to High-A Myrtle Beach and finally AA Mississippi. Across those levels he pitched 142.2 innings to a 2.59 ERA with 159 strikeouts and finishing with a 3.38 ERA in seven starts at AA. Teheran projects to be a number one starter at the major league level and continues making good impressions on every individual in the organisation. We have already seen what happens when you give up a pitcher like Neftali Feliz which should be a warning against even entertaining the idea of giving up Teheran.

5. Tommy Hanson, Pitcher

It was pretty tough choosing between Hanson and Teheran for the four and five slots on this list and really I only chose Teheran because of the hype surrounding him at the moment. If each career plays out as is expected Teheran should be pitching behind Hanson in the Braves rotation for the next ten years. In his one and a half years in the big leagues Tommy has put up an incredible 3.16 ERA while pitching 330.1 innings over the past two years since he replaced Tom Glavine on the Braves roster. The young Californian has also proved himself to be the biggest of big game pitchers shutting out the Yankees and Red Sox in back-to-back starts in his rookie season before putting up a 2.04 ERA in six September starts. In the 55 career starts made by Hanson so far he has proven that he can be one of the best starters in Major League baseball even appearing to be pitching slightly cleverly this spring than before when Tommy seemed reliant on his fastball to get him out of trouble. Again Hanson is another young Brave under control for the next couple of years at a very affordable price who could be a backbone of the team for the rest of the decade.

6. Martin Prado, Left Field

I may have Martin significantly higher than other fans or experts but this was a man that was the team’s MVP last season and then, in the offseason, moved to an unfamiliar position to accommodate a new player because it was the best thing for the team. Amongst other reasons for making Prado so untouchable is the fact he is a pure hitter, doesn’t have outstanding power, speed or on base ability he just hits and hits. In the three seasons that Martin has had over 500 plate appearances he has hit over .300 in each of those years posting a .320 average in 2008 and then .307 in both 2009 and 2010. It seems almost a certainty that he will start the season batting lead-off a position that saw Prado hit over .320 before moving to third in the order after Chipper Jones was injured. Throw in the fact the Prado is still only 27 and keeps himself in remarkable shape he should be hitting at the top of the line-up for the next few years. Comparisons have been made to Placido Polanco but I can also see some Nomar Garciaparra in his consistent ability to hit, with the youth of Heyward and Freeman Prado is the Braves best bet as a batting champ for maybe the next two years at least. How could you part with a piece like that?

7.Freddie Freeman, First Base

This was again a young man I had trouble slotting into the list, it didn’t seem right to have him any higher than seventh but anything lower seemed to somehow be ignoring his immense potential, especially given where I have ranked Teheran. Freeman is much more like Prado than his roommate and friend Heyward as far as hitting ability goes, he does not have a huge power swing but makes hitting look ridiculously easy. The home run that Freddie hit off of Cy Young winning Roy Halladay at the end of last season was more the exception than the rule given his swing. His ability to hit doubles was highlighted in the three doubles Freeman collected in his spring debut this month but, with the acquisition of Uggla, the need for Freeman to be a power hitter is somewhat lessened. What the Braves will look for Freeman to do is play the slick defence he has already exhibited and hit the way he has in the minors. Whilst there is a group of five or six elite first basemen in the game Freeman does not profile as a similar hitter the Pujols’ and Gonzalez’s of the world and the Braves won’t ask him to be that, but he is right up there in the second group of hitting first basemen after that and should have a long and productive career in one of the tougher positions to fill. Like Heyward he will be inexpensive for quite a while giving the Braves no reason to think losing Freeman could be a good think.

8. Chipper Jones, Third Base

Before I get into Chipper let’s just make sure we’re talking about the same player, this is the Chipper who hit .264 and .265 the last two seasons and is coming off major knee reconstruction, NOT the Chipper that won the batting title in 2008 and had 25-30 home run power. If we think back a lot of people, Chipper included, were convincing themselves that 2010 could be Jones’ last season in baseball as recently as June but, in large part thanks to hitting .400 in the month of August before his injury and also due to his incredible competitiveness, he decided to come back for another year. The perception of who Chipper Jones is will be shaped in the first month of the season and could well decide how much longer his career goes on. Chippers contract could well have seen him higher up the list but it seems safe to say that the contract or anything else would influence the Braves into trading Chipper, instead his iconic status in the organisation and importance to everything Braves means that while Chipper isn’t the least tradable Braves he is the most unlikely.

9. Jair Jurrjens, Pitcher

This may be more personal preference than actual fact given some of the rumours in the offseason but if we can ignore the injury plagued 2010 Jair is one of the top young starters in the game. It gets lost a little that JJ is still only 25 and has accumulated three full seasons with the Braves as well as a cup of coffee back in 2007 with the Tigers. Despite the fact that he posted a disappointing 4.64 ERA in 20 troublesome starts last season Jurrjens’ career ERA is still a respectable 3.52 mostly thanks to the sparkling 2009 JJ put together that finished with a 2.60 ERA and pitched 215 innings. Only a year ago he was being discussed as a potential Cy Young contender and now is hardly mentioned amongst the top tier of pitchers with many people unsure if 2009 or 2010 is the real Jair Jurrjens. At this point it is in the Braves best interests to keep him on board with the hope that 2009 will be what Jair turns out to be. If he can stay healthy the potential to have Hanson, Teheran and Jurrjens going back to back is scarier than anything the Phillies put together. Jurrjens was also signed to a one year contract in the winter, avoiding arbitration and signing for $3.25 million which could either prove to be a bargain or balance out with the savings made on Heyward and Freeman, either way he should prove to be a useful piece in a dangerous rotation.

10. Randall Delgado, Pitcher

Delgado is another one of the Braves incredible pitching prospects that could anchor a decade of pitching dominance for the organisation. Delgado began 2010 as slightly more advanced than Teheran, beginning the year at High-A Myrtle Beach and put up impressive numbers, a 2.76 ERA in 20 starts pitching 117.1 innings. He struggled a little after his promotion to AA putting up a 4.74 mark in 8 games which can perhaps be attributed to a young man having a tired arm more than anything else. Delgado projects to start the year where he finished the last, at AA, but if he experiences earlier success he could advance to join Teheran at AAA quite quickly. Despite lacking fanfare when he signed as a 16-year-old he has become as precocious as the more hyped Teheran and, like the Colombian, is a slender pitcher reliable on his fastball. So long as he controls his number one pitch and keeps it down he should experience success and progress quickly. He has number two pitcher stuff but could end up as the Braves number four, keeping players like Delgado in house prevents the Braves having to panic on the free agent market like they did in 2008.

Here are the final five of the list with somewhat less detail, I’ll just display their numbers and say why I ranked them.

11. Tim Hudson, Pitcher- 17-9, 2.83 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 228.2 innings pitched.

In the later years of his career the 35-year-old Alabama native should be the perfect bridge to the next generation of Teheran and Delgado. He is signed through the 2013 season.

12. Mike Minor, Pitcher- 3-2, 5.98 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 40.2 innings pitched.

The 2009 first round picks major league numbers a very deceitful given the long season Minor had already had in the minors. A 1.89 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 33.1 innings at AAA reflects Minors potential much more.

13. Arodys Vizcaino, Pitcher- 9-4, 2.74 ERA, 85.1 innings pitched.

Came to the Braves as part of the Javi Vazquez trade and became the third part of the Braves next pitching dynasty. Vizcaino actually improved with a promotion to AA posting a 2.39 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 71.2 innings and only 9 walks.

14. Edward Salcedo, Shortstop- .225 Avg/.307 OBP/.333 Slg.

Signed as a free agent the nineteen year old struggled in his first year in America. He profiles to be a powerful shortstop similar to Yunel Escobar. Braves hope to see improvement in plate discipline against the minor league pitching.

15. Craig Kimbrel, Pitcher- 4-0, 1 Save, 0.44 ERA, 20.2 innings pitched.

Kimbrel was perhaps the story of the Braves September as he struck out 21 hitters in 10.2 innings in the season final month. Should be Braves closer so long as he continues to improve in spring, could be the right handed Billy Wagner for the next ten years.

So there we go my 15 least tradable players in the Braves organisation. An honourable mention goes to Derek Lowe’s contract but I think the closing potential of Kimbrel deserved to be in the list more than Lowe’s bank account. There is a lot of pitching on that list which is good news for the Braves given the way baseball seems to be headed, the great thing is even outside of the Major Leagues the farm system is stacked with pitching and hitting meaning that the Braves do not need to trade any of these players to load the team. Hopefully you found this somewhat interesting and if you disagree I would love for you to tell me where I went wrong, in fact I encourage it.