Bradley’s Buzz: Another young arm for the Atlanta Braves?
Baseball 101: You can’t have enough pitching
Kris Medlen is on his way and Tommy Hanson will be here soon enough, and if Keith Law of ESPN.com’s Scouts Inc. is correct, the Braves could add another prized young arm (link requires registration) in the June draft.
Writes Law: “Consensus has Atlanta taking local prep star Zack Wheeler, but the Braves had a huge contingent in to see him during arguably his only bad start of the spring [last week]. They would love to find a bat at No. 7, but that player isn’t there this year.”
Wheeler plays for the East Paulding Raiders, who face Lowndes in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals Tuesday. According to the Scouts Inc. report (requires registration), he’s a “tall, loosed-armed right-handed pitcher who’s a lock to go in the first round.” He stands 6-foot-4 and throws as hard as 96 mph and has a “slurve” (combo slider/curveball).
Here’s a Law post that contains video of Wheeler working (requires registration), and if you listen close you can hear someone in the background say, “Jeez,” over one slurve. And here’s MLB.com’s rundown, which also includes video and doesn’t — yay! — require registration. (There’s also a YouTube video of Wheeler from the AFLAC All-American game at Dodger Stadium last summer posted below.)
From Jason Churchill of ESPN.com: An unnamed scouting director sees the Braves as having their choice of four pitchers at No. 7 — Shelby Miller of Brownwood, Texas; Jacob Turner of St. Louis; Matt Purke of Spring, Texas, and Wheeler. Says the scouting director (requires registration): “My money’s on Wheeler.”
On Law’s list of the top 100 prospects (requires registration), Wheeler actually rates behind the other three pitchers. He’s No. 13 overall, one spot ahead of center fielder Donavan Tate of Cartersville High, which plays Northside of Columbus in the Class AAA quarters Tuesday. Donavan is the son of Lars Tate, who was the first Next Herschel Walker at Georgia 25 years ago, and Scouts Inc. rates him as “the top prep position player in this draft.” (Requires registration.)
Law contends the Braves aren’t “on Tate,” for reasons not enumerated. But it should be noted that his agent is the demon Scott Boras.
(For the record, I asked Frank Wren before Monday’s game about Wheeler and Tate, and he said the Braves like both of them. So there.)
A contrarian view: Mac Thomason of Braves Journal makes the team’s first pick in MLB Outsider’s mock draft, and he has them taking Tate. MLB.com reports, however, that there “are some concerns” about Tate’s bat. There are none about his athletic ability. He has signed a football scholarship with North Carolina — classifying him as an “athlete,” Rivals.com ranked Tate the 83rd-best prospect in the nation– but the belief is that he’ll choose baseball.
A bit more draft? Baseball America tracks risers and fallers, and one local collegian falls under each heading. Rich Poythress, the Georgia first baseman, is in the latter category, while right-handed pitcher Chad Jenkins of Kennesaw State is said to have moved up, perhaps into the upper half of Round 1.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.A little minor-league action
The aforementioned Medlen will start for the Braves on Thursday, but he’s not the team’s hottest prospect according to Baseball America. Medlen is No. 6 on the latest list of hot prospects, while Jason Heyward, who’s playing at Class A Myrtle Beach, is No. 5. Heyward hit three homers last week, one off Brian Matusz, who’s No. 3 on the list.
Rubbing Salty (and Elvis) in the wound
Writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Randy Galloway tells us what we already know: The Braves got the short end of the 2007 Mark Teixeira trade. (Made by John Schuerholz, incidentally, not Frank Wren.) Shortstop Elvis Andrus “alone would have made that a good trade,” Galloway opines, but the Texas Rangers also landed Jarrod Saltalamacchia, plus pitchers Matt Harrison, who’s in the big-league rotation, and Neftali Feliz, who’s a hot prospect.
More Elvis: Stan McNeal of Sporting News Today calls him the best young player you haven’t heard enough about and lists the reasons why. But the guess here is that Atlantans will be hearing way too much about Andrus this next decade.
Kiffin speaks! (But not that Kiffin.)
Since we never hear anything from Lane Kiffin — hey, I’m kidding — it’s refreshing to hear his dad Monte offer a more circumspect take on coaching at Tennessee and in the SEC. Speaking with Matt Hayes of Sporting News Today, Monte Kiffin gushes over everything related to his new conference, including Tim Tebow and the level of competition, and even Rich Brooks. (Oh, and of his offspring, the elder Kiffy says: “Lane has a lot of energy.”)
And now a little roundball
On the Bleacher Report, the poster Cole poses five offseason questions for the Hawks. One is provocative — has this team, to use the infamous Rankin Smith Sr. description, reached a plateau? — and one is less so. Asks Bleacher Report: Can the Hawks find their LeBron James? And the answer is no. There’s only one of those.
And here’s a nice season-review-plus-look-ahead by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. I link to Newberry because he’s really good and AJC readers often don’t see his stories (because we write our own, duh). But let me stipulate that nobody covers the Hawks like esteemed colleague and fellow Cobb Countian Sekou Smith. If you don’t patronize his blog, stop what you’re doing and go there. There’s not a better NBA writer anywhere.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
86 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
11:05 am
They played in five World Series — 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. They won in 1995.
patriots75
May 18th, 2009
11:13 am
Randy, i am not going by his last 2 starts, have you ever seen him pitch? He has had success at every level to the majors,not trying to say he is better than the others you want brought up but its has been noted that he has more wins in his first 22 games started by a lefty than anyone else in like 85 years, i would still take him over KK or JO JO!
jason
May 18th, 2009
11:17 am
Hey Mark, care to finish this paragraph?
A bit more draft? Baseball America tracks risers and fallers, and one local collegian falls under each heading. Rich Poythress, the Georgia first baseman, is in the latter category, while right-handed pitcher Chad
?
Jeff R
May 18th, 2009
11:22 am
Arguably one of the worst deals made by John Schuerholz, acquiring Super Tex for the top prospects that Mark mentions. It was an incredibly dumb move then – thinking that a power bat was the Braves’ ticket to the post season, when pitching was the real need. At the time, there wasn’t any good pitching talent available; Schuerholz should have stood pat. Instead, he hustled off some top talent for a rent-a-player who always only had eyes for NYC.
Second dumbest move by Schuerholz: swapping Adam Wainwright for Just the Dough Drew.
Imagine if the Braves still had Wainwright, Harrison and Perez?
Imagine Salty at 1B, and Andrus at short (I’ll bet good money that Escobar could establish himself as a solid 3B).
Oh, well, woulda, coulda, shoulda. What is, is.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
11:23 am
Jason, that’s what’s known as “leaving the reader wanting more.”
Actually, it’s what’s known as “cutting off the last line of a paragraph when changing the poll question.” It’s fixed now. Thanks for catching it, especially since I obviously didn’t.
Jack G.
May 18th, 2009
11:24 am
Mac
Yeah I guess I do exhist in another diminision at my age. I am older than dirt. 14 years is a drop in the bucket when you are as okd as I am.
Jack G.
May 18th, 2009
11:26 am
Tradeing youth for veterans is like sex. One night stand versus a long term relationship.
August
May 18th, 2009
11:27 am
Kennesaw State must have something good going on up there. Jenkins could go first round, Wheeler committed to KSU, and Kyle Heckathorn struck out 15 Friday night and could go in the second or third round.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
11:28 am
Actually, Heckathorn is rated above Jenkins in Law’s top 100.
Stop me if you’ve heard this, but baseball in Cobb County is pretty darn good.
Joe
May 18th, 2009
11:36 am
Zack Wheeler is a freak of an athlete. If he would have stuck with basketball he would be a division 1 recruit. Zack threw a no hitter in the state playoffs and topped out at 98mph. The Braves need to keep this local product close to home.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
12:01 pm
Joe, your comment impelled me to find a YouTube video of Wheeler’s delivery, and it’s posted above. It’s from the AFLAC All-American game from Dodger Stadium last summer.
Randy
May 18th, 2009
12:06 pm
patriots75 yes I did notice his win totals but I also noticed his ERA and his run support. Homeboy gets a lot of runs to work with which is not something bad on him or anything but win/loss are a bit over rated when your ERA over that span is over 5.00
patriots75
May 18th, 2009
12:21 pm
I will not argue about his era, just stated he is better than JOJO and KK, besides era is not what defines a pitcher in the american league as much as the national with the DH,i will take 13-5 record any day,it doesn’t matter what you or i think it still doesn’t change the fact that Texas is happy with the trade and they sure got the better end than the Braves, tell me how many of the minor league pitchers you have seen or are you going by what you read or hear?
Joe
May 18th, 2009
12:23 pm
Mark,
The kid is a stud, and not only a good pitcher but he is a very good athlete overall, You normally find a lot of unathletic baseball players, Zack is a high level athlete. He can dunk a basketball with the best of them. Good baseball bloodlines as his brother was drafted and pitched in the Yankees organization. He works hard and is humble, once he puts some weight on in a strength program he will be topping out at 100mph+.
braveshater
May 18th, 2009
12:39 pm
“Braves not on Tate”, why am I not surprised. The Quota is at its limit right now.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
2:12 pm
Wheeler has a little of that Justin Verlander look about him.
Skeezix
May 18th, 2009
2:25 pm
Over all those years/championships, JS gets an A from me. However, Wren appears to be personification of the peter principle. For example, KK was always a long shot and Wren is paying him millions to throw batting practice balls to opposing hitters. The bullpen still remains a mess after what now? Three years?
Mark, I hope we do get some new young arms soon and if Huddy returns in August….. who knows? While our hitters need some geritol, better pitching from the bullpen and the return of Hudson may at least give us a shot at a wild card spot. But until then, the masterful Bobby Cox has to find a way to keep playing 500 ball with the cards he was dealt.
BT
May 18th, 2009
2:27 pm
Mark, other than our esteemed Brian McCann and Escobar what successes have we had in developing hitters (not prospects true major league hitters)in the last few years?
Another question, what “hitters” on our team have really improved under the tutelage of TP?
kirkinga
May 18th, 2009
2:41 pm
All this hindsight evaluation of trades is pure folly and speculation. Even in hindsight the only trade that really hurts right now was the Wainwright-Drew trade. I say it hurts now because Wainwright obviously could be our rotation and doing well. But that trade was the right one to do given the Braves were still contenders and thought that Wainwright would have some physical problems due to his height and mechanics(anyone remember who wrote that article?)
As for the Texeria trade, there were two of them and to evaluate them properly, you must do so in conjunction with the LaRoche trade.All three trades worked together, you can’t separate them and still do an honest job of evaluating JS’s thought process or performance. The Tex trade doesn’t happen but for the LaRoche deal.
Pretty much everyone wanted LaRoche gone. That trade netted us a closer. As for the Tex deal,I still say it was a good trade for the Braves. JS dealt from a system with an abundance of talent and he skimmed off some nice talent that had no place to go with he big league club.
The Braves got a very good 1st baseman, not as good as Tex, but better than LaRoche. They also got a situational lefty that did well after the trade. And sure some of the players the Braves gave up in Tex trade #1 seem to be good. But none of them are Wainwright obvious in that you can say for sure they would be on the current team and doing well.
Salty and Elvis were not going to be starters for this team. As for the pitchers, if you say they would be helping now, then you’re really saying they are better than Hanson, Medlen, and Morton and I don’t think we can say that yet. The Rangers are a pitching-desperate team and so guys who would still be high-ranking prospects if they were still Braves, are afforded a chance to play with the Rangers.
So we upgraded at 1st base(despite losing Tex), we also got a closer, and we kept our depth of starting pitching and other high ranking prospects that project to the major league team, that is all due to the Tex trades and the decision making of JS.
To point to a few players who are able to start for the Rangers and then yell “mistake”, is short-sighted and wrong.
Jared
May 18th, 2009
2:42 pm
the Drew trade is infinitely worse than the Tex trade. for Tex, yes we gave up some quality talent, however, none of those players were going to big leaguers with the Braves. Trade bait? sure, but Salty was blocked by an all-star, andrus was blocked by Yunel (who could be an all star if it werent for the insanely deep SS position in the NL), harrison is not as good as either Medlen or Hanson, and I dont know enough about Feliz.
so when you’re in good shape with a lot of young talent, the second guy in line usually gets traded, and most of the time for a big-time veteran who makes an immediate impact.
had the braves made the run into the playoffs, Tex could have been resigned. There was some money that could have been jettisoned in order to keep Tex. But they didnt win, so they dealt him. It didnt work out… oh well. There was a much better chance of us keeping Tex than there was of us keeping JD Drew.
patriots75
May 18th, 2009
3:02 pm
the bottom line is we can wish and beg, but until we get a real owner who cares about the finished product on the field we will never be any better than we are today!
BBFCFM
May 18th, 2009
3:33 pm
you guys, JS did a myriad of successful fleeces in his career.
Everybody Beotches and moans about the JD drew trade, but, so what? Wainwright? is anybody really complaining about that? JD had a killer year for us that year, and that was the point. Marquis? whoopidy doo. Won 15 games the year after we traded him. Had 2 losing season right after. I know we overvalue our prospects here in the A, but they are established vets now who simply put, arent all that good. I’d rather have Vasquez, personally.
Mcgriff of course was the definition of fleece, and we all know the fire he lit when he came here.
Tex- win now. That was the move. Everyone knew it. Did we give up a lot? hell yes! But our farm system is bangin right now so I dont think we can lament on love lost. We traded from a position of strength, and had to wait for it to fill back up to maximuim power. We incurred 2-3 years of farm system lag, and now we are primed to produce again. The main guy that we let go is Feliz. Saltys not burnin up the league right now, is he? The answer is no, but talking to fans, he was the second coming of the fonz. Remember how no one wanted Mccann to be the Mann? well he is, and Im quite happy bout it.
I mean, every guy on the farm isnt going to don the sacred scripted big A, so you need to do something with them.
And we do need to find a Larry replacement. Its not like we have to spot start him to get some experience in, Mark. I think drafting a guy would suffice. Either that, or just wait till he retires and buy one.
Thats my rehashed 2 cents. But I like to think of em as wheatbacks, since this was so nostalgic.
BBFCFM
May 18th, 2009
4:01 pm
And in reference to Wainwright, the reason no one should care is because:
A: he allowed us to essentially accomplish what we were doing that year, and that was to win now, by trading for JD Drew.
B. he went 11-3 last year, after going 14-12 or something the year before. This year he already has 2 losses compared to 4 wins.
C. I mean, seems like that kind of production can be replaced, and I guarantee if he were on the Braves for the last 4 years his record would be worse.
Hes not an Ace in my opinion and he was used for a purpose. Im not a JS apologist, I just want to put some things in prospective here. Imagine if we were the padres trading McGriff. Would you still be that upset about Wainwright?
But like I said, just wanting to toss my pennies in the fountain on this one, cause I see people talking about these old trades and its just not that big o deal, IMO
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
4:19 pm
Hello, folks. I’m at the Braves game, and I just asked Frank Wren about Wheeler and Tate. He said the Braves like both. Just FYI.
Ted Striker
May 18th, 2009
5:56 pm
Monte Kiffin’s a first class guy. When you think of him being Lane’s dad, you just know that apple tree must have been on the side of a very steep hill.
Nice selection of links and mighty fine commentary, Mark. And put down that hot dog while you’re working.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
6:20 pm
Two slices of pizza are serving as tonight’s dinner fare, I’ll have you know.
Thanks again for your patronage, Mr. Ted.
Ted Striker
May 18th, 2009
7:42 pm
I’ve been close enough to Starry Night to be ‘cautioned’ by the security guard, I saw Tom Jones in Vegas (and failed to get a date with one of his female backup singers), I’ve had a meal prepared by Emeril in Buckhead (I didn’t know he was a professional chef till I saw him on a magazine cover a month or so later) and I’ve read Lewis Grizzard and Mark Bradley. I wouldn’t trade any experience for any of the other. They all stand on their own. Keep up the good work, keep the faith. (And let me know if Elizabeth branches out from making final four picks into making lottery picks)
Ted Striker, esq., bringing it in at slightly higher than usual altitude and as usual — way too fast.
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
Ted Striker — bon vivant, raconteur, boulevardier. Thanks again.
“Starry Night,” eh? Even I know that one. I’m impressed. (By LeRoy Neiman, as I recall.)
And my claim to fame? I once stood beside Cheryl Tiegs in a buffet line at the official Derby media party — and the tag on her blouse was sticking up in the back.
Ted Striker
May 18th, 2009
8:33 pm
Darned if you aren’t an art aficionado. I was right next to the Starry Night collection in Neiman Marcus. Or K-Mart. (It’s happy hours, I gets confused).
I ain’t sure it was the tag that was sticking up when you were next to CT.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
May 18th, 2009
11:01 pm
Hindsight is 50/50. The problem is, the second I heard that the Braves had traded Wainwright and Marquis for one outfielder I wanted to puke. We got the nice metal division banner stapled in the outfield, the Cardinals ended up with a World Series trophy.
The Tex trade was WS or bust and I said as much the moment that trade went down. We know how it ended up, our Braves got abused like those boys in the movie “Deliverance”.
Elvis Andrus would be our starting SS, Escobar would be at 3B and Chipper would have to play 1B whether he wanted to or not. Salty would be McCann’s understudy. But Neftali Felix may be the biggest prospect of them all. His bazooka right arm produces 100 mph fastball’s like bee’s make honey. He’s as a good a prospect as Tommy Hanson is, maybe better.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/minorleagues/prospects/y2009/profile.jsp?t=p_top&pid=491703
The idea that the Texas Rangers could eventually end up with two starting pitchers, a starting SS and C is just ridiculous. The Tex trade will go down as one of the worst trades in ML history.
TennesseePaul
May 18th, 2009
11:44 pm
“The thing about the Teixeira trade was that so many good ones left in one fell swoop, as it were”
I get the argument that it was a lot to include in a trade. But that is about the only way I could view that trade as bad. As much as everyone wants to try to make losing Elvis Andrus a big deal, the team still has Yunel Escobar. As much as everyone wants to make a big deal out of dealing Salty, the team still has Brian McCann. And the pitching… the Braves are fine on pitching. Had the team traded away a power hitting LF in that deal….
Mark Bradley
May 18th, 2009
11:55 pm
Yes, Paul, but that’s the thing: That same package — or something similar, even something less — might have brought a power-hitting left fielder in return. Instead the Braves shipped out four good prospects and essentially wound up with Casey Kotchman, who’s on pace to drive in 66 runs.
TennesseePaul
May 19th, 2009
1:09 am
“That same package — or something similar, even something less — might have brought a power-hitting left fielder in return”
There in lies the gamble. That package brought in a power hitting clean up man and the team didn’t win. It is what it is. But it didn’t hurt the team in terms of depth at the positions traded which is why I have a hard time buying into that deal as being the worst thing and the reason for the Braves current woes. A deal of “something less” was made for Nancy Drew and even still there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Bob
May 19th, 2009
3:21 am
Some more (Braves)Minor League stuff-
http://minorsandmajors.com/2009/729/braves-beat-romero-ironpigs-43
About McLouth: Yeah, the Braves gave up a lot, but ... | Mark Bradley
June 4th, 2009
7:01 am
[...] seasoned in a year or so, and the Braves could select the Cartersville center fielder Donavan Tate in next week’s draft. Or they could take pitcher Zack Wheeler of East Paulding to help offset the losses of Morton and [...]
The Braves' No. 1 pick: A Minor addition or a major reach? | Mark Bradley
August 24th, 2009
7:17 pm
[...] Their track record tells us so. Another stipulation: Zack Wheeler of East Paulding, considered the apple of the Braves’ eye, was taken sixth overall by San Francisco. That said, Minor was still an odd [...]