Nats trading Giolito and others for Adam Eaton. I'd at least be inquiring to find out Ender's value this offseason. EDIT: Others being Reynaldo Lopez. So yeah, I'd definitely be trying to figure out Ender's value.
I probably would have offered Ender for Giolito straight up. Can't believe that trade. White Sox are killing it.
Yea great day for Braves fans. They just traded two front of the rotation starters for an outfielder that's good to very good.
Nats also gave up their #6 prospect, who was also their 1st round pick from this past season, Dane Dunning. Damn, what a haul for the White Sox.
We released Perez and took Armando Rivera from the Cubs in the rule 5 draft. Power righty reliever with ridiculous strikeout numbers last year at AAA.
Should also note than he is 28, but is a Cuban born player. .169 BAA 105 Ks in 67.2 IP That's a ridiculous 14.1 K/9 I'd take a flyer on a guy like that any day.
With the market for pen help I like this. Nice couple moves today. I was just telling a buddy.. We are almost to the point where fringe starters like Gant, Whalen, and Jenkins aren't in our plan. We have higher ceiling guys for the rotation and flame throwers for the pen.
Let's be honest, both Tyrell and Jackson are relievers long-term. And if I'm choosing a profile for a reliever, I'd much rather have one with Jackson's stuff over Tyrell's. That said, Tyrell's an awesome dude and hope he kills it over there in Texas.
Bowman: The Braves discussed releasing Jenkins last week before instead opening the 40-man spot by trading Whalen. They now at least got something.
Braves fans on Twitter are losing it. I think it's a good trade. I never got the hype for Jenkins. Low k rate, high bb rate, average stuff, never showed the ability to pitch way above his stuff like others in the minors - Soroka, Whalen, etc.
Jenkins had incredibly mediocre stuff. Was a really overhyped prospect. But he seemed like a good dude so I'm happy he got traded to a team in his home state. I don't think anything comes out of this deal for either side.
BA Top 10 Braves Prospects: Dansby Swanson, SS Ozzie Albies, 2B Kolby Allard, LHP Mike Soroka, RHP Ian Anderson, RHP Ronald Acuna, OF Kevin Maitan, SS Sean Newcomb, LHP Patrick Weigel, RHP Max Fried, LHP
Anyone have a BA sub for their full scouting reports? Do they post a top 30 online or is that the magazine only?
I really hope Fried continues on the path he's been on lately. Has been my favorite arm in the system since he came from SD.
People like Tyrell as a person. I do too. But we're not building a social club, we're building a baseball team. As Gondee said, a winning strategy is to collect a bunch of these high-upside low-floor guys and see what happens. That's the clear strategy this offseason. We have a very deep talent but very few of those guys have monster upside.
Here ya go. Spoiler 1. Dansby Swanson, ss | Born: Feb. 11, 1994. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 190. Drafted: Vanderbilt, 2015 (1st round). Signed by: Nate Birtwell (Diamondbacks). SCOUTING GRADES Batting: 60 Power: 50 Speed: 60 Defense: 60 Arm: 60 Based on 20-80 scouting scale—where 50 represents major league average—and future projection rather than present tools. Background: Winning has become synonymous with Swanson since he was a dual-sport athlete at Marietta High in suburban Atlanta. He was part of two state championships in basketball and was a member of the East Cobb Yankees, which won the 2012 Perfect Game national championship. After opting to attend Vanderbilt despite being drafted by the Rockies in the 38th round in 2012, Swanson overcame a broken foot and a shoulder injury as a freshman to lead the Commodores to the program’s first College World Series national championship as a sophomore in 2014, when he earned CWS Most Outstanding Player honors. He moved from second base to shortstop as a junior and helped guide Vandy back to the CWS Finals in 2015. That month the Diamondbacks made him the first overall pick in the draft. Hit in the face by a pitch during a simulated game, Swanson bounced back in time to be part of short-season Hillsboro’s Northwest League championship in his pro debut. Three months later, Arizona sent Swanson, outfielder Ender Inciarte and righthander Aaron Blair to the Braves for righthander Shelby Miller and low Class A lefthander Gabe Speier. He proceeded to tear up the high Class A Carolina League for a month in 2016, before moving on to the Double-A Southern League, where he ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the circuit. He made his major league debut as Atlanta’s starting shortstop on Aug. 17, stroking two hits in four at-bats against the Twins. Scouting Report: Braves scouting director Brian Bridges got to know Swanson well during the latter’s high school career and loved everything the shortstop brought to the table at a young age. Rated by SL managers as the league’s best defensive shortstop, Swanson has outstanding quickness with exceptional range, soft and steady hands, and above-average arm strength with excellent accuracy on his throws. He uses his intelligence and superior feel for the game to anticipate plays, which helped him lead all minor league shortstops with an average of 3.27 assists per game in 2016. His cerebral approach is also noticeable on offense, where he uses his above-average speed to take the extra base. An ideal No. 2 hitter, Swanson makes hard and consistent contact with his advanced approach at the plate. His patience and feel for the strike zone allow him to work counts and pile up walks. He also is capable of executing the hit-and-run and driving the ball to all fields, and he should have at least average power once he gains more experience at the game’s top level. The biggest question scouts have is how much his power will play to go along with a fairly high strikeout rate going back to his Vanderbilt days. The Future: Swanson looked the part as Atlanta’s long-term answer at shortstop over the final seven weeks of the 2016 campaign. While he may not put up the kind of numbers to garner perennial MVP consideration, his steady and consistent performance on the field and his overall makeup and personality off it, while playing his home games in the county where he was born, make Swanson a natural fit for a rebuilding organization. He’s positioned to be a face for the franchise as its starting shortstop for years to come. 2. Ozzie Albies, 2b/ss | Born: Jan. 7, 1997. B-T: B-R. Ht.: 5-9. Wt.: 160. Signed: Curacao, 2013. Signed by:Dargello Lodowica. Background: Albies continued his rapid ascent through the organization in 2016. At age 19, he skipped high Class A and wound up leading the Double-A Southern League in average (.321) and on-base percentage (.391). Despite struggling during a two-month stint in Triple-A at midseason, he thrived in a return to Mississippi before breaking the tip of a bone in his right elbow Sept. 9, keeping him out of the SL playoffs. Scouting Report: Strictly a shortstop prior to 2016, Albies shifted to second base when he teamed with Dansby Swanson at Mississippi. The definition of a quick-twitch athlete, Albies’ first-step quickness, soft hands, above-average arm strength and baseball instincts make him a plus defender at both middle-infield spots. He has some work to do in making the pivot on double plays, which should come with experience. His offensive strength is his ability to make hard and consistent contact from both sides of the plate, thanks to his plus bat speed and superior hand-eye coordination. He drives the ball better than advertised, draws walks and uses his plus speed to beat out grounders and steal bases, making him an ideal top-of-the-lineup hitter. The Future: Albies will be in the hunt for a big league job in 2017. If he does not earn the starting nod for Opening Day, he will make a short return to Gwinnett. Either way, he is Atlanta’s long-term answer at the keystone sack. 3. Kolby Allard, lhp | Born: Aug. 13, 1997. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 180. Drafted: HS—San Clemente, Calif., 2015 (1st round). Signed by: Dan Cox. Background: The Braves selected Allard 14th overall in 2015 after he fell due to a stress reaction in his back that caused him to miss most of his senior year of high school. He had minor surgery after signing and was held back in 2016 as a precautionary measure in extended spring training. He opened at low Class A Rome in June before the Rookie-level Danville season started, then returned to Rome after five starts and got better as the year went on. Allard went 4-0, 1.72 with 37 strikeouts in 31 innings in August before tossing 12 shutout innings in the South Atlantic League playoffs. Scouting Report: Allard showed in 2016 why so many scouts ranked him near the top of their draft boards the year before. The lefthander has an excellent feel for pitching and works down in the strike zone. His fastball sits at 90-94 mph and possesses late cutting action. He mixes his heater with a plus hammer curveball with a 1-to-7 drop that may be his best pitch. Allard has made outstanding progress with his changeup that could improve to the point where he winds up with three plus pitches. He throws a lot of strikes and should have above-average command when he matures The Future: Allard has the overall package to be a No. 2 or 3 starter in the big leagues. He should open 2017 at Atlanta’s new Florida State League affiliate but could make the jump to Double-A during the campaign. 4. Mike Soroka, rhp | Born: August 4, 1997. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 195. Drafted: HS—Calgary, 2015 (1st round). Signed by: Brett Evert. Background: The Braves loved what they saw in Soroka when he pitched on the Canadian Junior National Team and they took the righthander with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 draft. Efficient due to his advanced feel for pitching, Soroka wound up working more innings (143) than any prep first-rounder in his first full season in at least a decade. He served as No. 1 starter in both rounds of the South Atlantic League playoffs for low Class A Rome. Scouting Report: Soroka’s intelligence is readily apparent on the mound and helped him adjust after lefthanded hitters pounded him in his pro debut. He switched sides of the pitching rubber to locate better to his glove side and it worked. He limited lefthanded batters to a .648 OPS in 2016. Soroka mixes three above-average pitches with aplomb and generates lots of groundouts due to his plus control and ability to pound the lower half of the strike zone. His 90-92 mph fastball has excellent sinking action and touches 95 when he guns for a strikeout. His curveball has tight spin, his changeup has solid movement and he reads hitters’ swings to attack their weakness. Strong with a solid presence on the bump, Soroka is a former hockey player and a solid all-around athlete who fields his position well. The Future: Soroka was one of the youngest players in his draft class and among the youngest pitchers in the South Atlantic League in 2016. While his next step will be high Class A, he projects as a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues. 5. Ian Anderson, rhp | Born: May 2, 1998. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 170. Drafted: HS—Clifton Park, N.Y., 2016 (1st round). Signed by: Greg Morhardt. Background: Anderson attracted attention in the Metropolitan Baseball Classic prior to his junior year and began to take off when he pitched against 2015 first-round pick Garrett Whitley the following spring. Despite battling pneumonia and a minor injury during his senior year, Anderson ranked high on the Braves’ 2016 draft board from the outset, and Atlanta drafted the lanky, projectable righthander third overall and signed him for a below-slot $4 million. Scouting Report: Anderson possesses the classic combination of current ability with the potential to become even better with experience and physical development. A cerebral pitcher who was a Vanderbilt commit, he has impressed with his calm, mature approach and ability to dissect the strike zone with his impressive command and ability to work both sides of the plate. He throws all three of his pitches from the same release point, which makes them difficult for hitters to decipher. His fastball sits at 92-94 mph and has touched 97. He also throws a late-breaking curveball, with above-average potential and 10-to-4 shape at 79-81 mph and a plus changeup in the mid-80s. The Future: After spending his pro debut at Atlanta’s two Rookie-level affiliates, Anderson will open 2017 at low Class A Rome, where he can expect to spend the entire campaign. From there he has the ability to move quickly as he develops into a mid-rotation starter at the big league level. 6. Ronald Acuna, of Born: Dec. 18, 1997. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 180. Signed: Venezuela, 2014. Signed by: Rolando Petit. Background: The Braves have been aggressive in challenging Acuna since he signed for a modest $100,000 in 2014. He performed well in his U.S. debut after bypassing the Dominican Summer League in 2015 and proceeded to get off to a fast start at low Class A Rome in 2016 before a broken thumb sidelined him from mid-May to mid-August. Scouting Report: Despite the injury, Acuna displayed his electric tools in all phases of the game. He uses his plus speed to cover center field from gap to gap and has the arm strength to play any position in the garden. He reads balls well, takes good angles and shows impressive anticipation along with excellent first-step quickness. Acuna is aggressive at the plate but has above-average discipline for a teenager. While his body is still developing, he has plus raw power and barrels pitches consistently with his above-average bat speed. Those traits should allow him to hit for average at higher levels. He needs work on stealing bases more consistently but has the speed to make an impact on the basepaths. The Future: His shortened season in Rome notwithstanding, Acuna should open the 2017 campaign in high Class A after making up for lost time in the winter Australian Baseball League. Though risky, he has as high a ceiling as any Braves position player. 7. Kevin Maitan, ss | Born: Feb. 12, 2000. B-T: B-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 175. Signed: Venezuela, 2016. Signed by: Gordon Blakeley/Mike Silvestri/Rolando Petit. Background: Maitan began to attract the attention of scouts in Venezuela at the age of 13 while training with Henderson Martinez. Over the next three years the power-hitting shortstop emerged as the top international amateur prospect and was considered to be the best foreign amateur to hit the market since Miguel Sano in 2009. Maneuvering their way to make a big splash on the international market in 2016, the Braves made Maitan their primary target and signed him on July 2 for a reported $4.25 million. Scouting Report: Maitan draws comparisons with Chipper Jones with his ability to hit for power and average from both sides of the plate. He gets more loft from the right side but shows an overall advanced feel for the strike zone and excellent discipline for such a young player. Like Jones, Maitan is a physical player with solid athleticism and high baseball intelligence. Given his current size, he may move to third base as his body matures, though his easy actions and footwork and strong arm suggest he could yet remain up the middle. Either way the Braves envision a middle-of-the-lineup hitter thanks his plus raw power. The Future: Were Maitan an American player eligible for the draft, he would have been in the 2018 class. He’s so young that he will likely debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2017, though it’s possible he’ll be advanced enough to open his pro career in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. 8. Sean Newcomb, lhp | Born: June 12, 1993. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-5. Wt.: 240. Drafted: Hartford, 2014 (1st round). Signed by: Nick Gorneault (Angels). Background: The 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Newcomb was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels after the 2015 campaign. A two-sport standout in high school prior to pitching at Hartford, he appeared in the Futures Game during his lone season with the Angels before leading the Double-A Southern League with 152 strikeouts and ranking second with a .224 opponent average in 2016. Scouting Report: Newcomb is a power pitcher who improved the consistency of his delivery over the course of the 2016 season. His fastball ranges from 90-95 mph but sits at 92-93 and tends to jump out of his hand due to his ability to hide the ball until he releases it. He records many of his strikeouts with a hard, tight curveball that possesses plus spin and sits at 77-78 mph. Newcomb’s mid-80s changeup is at least a solid-average offering but lacks late movement. He tends to lose his rhythm and focus on occasion, helping produce his below-average control, and he needs to get more aggressive with his pitch selection when he’s ahead in the count. The Future: Newcomb has the broad-shouldered frame and strength to be a workhorse in a big league rotation—if he throws enough strikes. He is ready for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2017 and should make his major league debut at some point during the season. 9. Patrick Weigel, rhp Born: July 8, 1994. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-6. Wt.: 220. Drafted: Houston, 2015 (7th round). Signed by: Darin Vaughan. Background: Weigel pitched for three schools in college and was a reliever at Houston when the Braves made him a 2015 seventh-round pick. A mediocre pro debut at Rookie-level Danville that year did little to excite the masses before the righthander displayed the ability to throw four pitches for strikes at low Class A Rome in 2016. He wound up ranking second in the organization in wins (11) and ERA and tying for second in strikeouts (152) while finishing the season in Double-A. Scouting Report: Standing 6-foot-6 and possessing a live arm, Weigel has an intimidating presence on the mound. His fastball sits 94-95 mph and touches 98, which is velocity that overpowered most low Class A South Atlantic League hitters. He mixes his heater with a sweeping mid-70s curveball, a hard mid-80s slider with short, downward action and a changeup that is inconsistent but flashes plus potential when he throws it properly. The development of his changeup could determine whether Weigel starts or relieves at higher levels. He also has ironed out most of the control problems that hampered him in college but needs to fine-tune his command. The Future: A classic late bloomer, Weigel will return to Double-A Mississippi to open 2017 and could be knocking on the door to the big leagues by the end of this season. 10. Max Fried, lhp | Born: Jan. 18, 1994. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 185. Drafted: HS—Los Angeles, 2012 (1st round). Signed by: Brent Mayne (Padres). Background: Atlanta finally had the opportunity to see Fried on the mound after the Braves acquired him from the Padres in December 2014 as part of the Justin Upton trade. The seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft, Fried missed much of 2014 and all of 2015 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Other than a blister problem that cost him a month at midseason, the lefthander showed few ill effects from the procedure while making 21 appearances at low Class A Rome in 2016. Scouting Report: Fried displayed an increase in overall maturity and overcame some early-season rustiness with his fastball command to overpower hitters late in the campaign. He struck out 10 batters in each of his last two starts before notching 11 in his first playoff appearance. Fried showed a plus fastball at 92-95 mph and even touched 97 on several occasions, though his fastball command is below-average. He throws a hard curveball that generated many of his strikeouts. He also throws a slower breaking ball primarily early in counts and became more consistent with both breaking balls as the year progressed. Fried’s improving changeup features solid fade and depth and generates swings and misses. The Future: Fried finished the season with 44 strikeouts in his last 25.1 innings, counting the South Atlantic League playoffs. He’ll try to maintain that momentum in 2017 at high Class A Florida. With more command, he could pitch toward the front of a big league rotation.
Being Capt. Obvious, Dansby just looks like a baseball player and more importantly he looks like a Brave.
Armando Rivero, RHP, Braves -- The 28-year-old Cuba native pitched like someone who deserved a Major League look in 2016 but never got the chance with the Cubs. Rivero struck out 105 batters in 67 2/3 innings at Triple-A and was effective against both left-handers (.146 average-against) and right-handers (.186 average-against) thanks to a good fastball and slider. Though they're sure to improve as their young talent starts to flourish, the Braves will likely still be a step or two away from serious NL East contention, and with a reported preference to carry eight guys in the bullpen, Rivero looks like a player who could stick.
The player to be named in the Alex Jackson trade is Lefty Pitcher Tyler Pike. He was a third round pick in 2012 that they tried to fast track. He stalled out but pitched well last year in high A as a 22 year old. Big curve ball that has the makings of an out pitch. More of the same... Mariners prospect Tyler Pike straightens out career with dominant curve PHOTO BY BOBBY DEMURO ByBobby DeMuro Posted on October 5, 2016 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — When the Seattle Mariners drafted left-handed pitcher Tyler Pike out of a Central Florida high school in 2012, there was no question that his raw promise would take some time to develop. Despite being the 126th player selected in that June draft, the plan for the soft-spoken pitcher would be one of patience, as is typical of most any high school product who enters professional baseball at just 18 years old. Take Pike’s draft round itself; save fellow Mariner Edwin Diaz, all the other third-rounders from 2012 who have reached the big leagues already are products of major college programs, not high schools. And so now that Pike, 22, is wrapping up his fifth pro summer fresh off a successful High-A campaign, he’s right on track. He just didn’t take a normal path to get here. After a dominant 2012 in rookie ball (a 1.78 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in eleven starts), the Mariners pushed Pike very quickly, skipping short-season and shipping him off to Low-A Clinton in 2013 as a 19-year-old three years younger than his average competition. And yet in his first full season there, he responded extremely well and finished 7-4 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 22 starts. Results bring promotions, and so the Mariners tested him again the next summer in High-A—once again, as a starter three years younger than his competition—but this time in the unforgiving hitter’s haven that was High Desert. There, save for one magical game, Pike failed for the first time in his career. Fourteen starts in unforgiving Adelanto in 2014 left him with a 2-4 record and a 5.72 ERA, and yet bizarrely, the Mariners only ever pushed him even harder, promoting him at midseason to Double-A Jackson where he was then four-and-a-half years younger than his competition. In 13 starts with Jackson, he was 3-4 with a 7.35 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP in 49 innings—ugly numbers that, when combined with his High-A struggles, left 2014 as an unusually bizarre and disappointing odyssey (not to mention a weirdly aggressive promotion path). When 2015 began with him returning to High-A, this time with the Bakersfield Blaze—and against competition now only two years older—Pike was in far better company to find success and develop on a more normal path. “I wasn’t necessarily rushed [to Double-A in 2014], but I had a 6.00 ERA in High-A before I got moved up, so maybe I felt a little bit rushed,” Pike acknowledged in a conversation with Today’s Knuckleball at the end of Bakersfield’s season last month. “I guess they thought that’s what was best for me, and really, that experience helped me a lot, seeing better hitters and stuff. But then coming back down to Bakersfield last year [in 2015], I knew I needed to buckle down and figure out what I needed to do to be more consistent in the strike zone, and strike out more guys.” Pike did exactly that, even though it’s now taken him two summers in Bakersfield to figure everything out. In 2015 with the Blaze, he put together a respectable 6-6 record with a 4.26 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 122.2 innings pitched. Good without question—light years ahead of his bizarre 2014—and yet not overly dominant. To Pike’s surprise, the Mariners sent him back to Bakersfield in 2016, marking his third straight summer pitching in the High-A California League on Pike’s pro ball roller coaster ride. “I think they sent me back here for a reason,” the Mariners prospect said about his second straight summer in Bakersfield, and third straight in the Cal League. “With new [front office] guys coming in, I came into this year expecting that I might have a chance to go to Double-A, but getting sent back here, knowing that I’m only 22 and I’m still average age for this league, I think they knew I had some stuff I needed to work out before I got to go to Double-A. It’s a whole different league up there.” To Pike’s development credit, his return to Bakersfield came with a dominant out pitch that baffled High-A hitters throughout 2016. A minor shoulder injury hampered the middle of his summer, but in 26 starts this year, including the playoffs, Pike whiffed 139 batters in 130.2 innings—about 9.6 strikeouts per nine, which marked by far the highest total of his pro career since his dominant rookie campaign in 2012. That, and the fact that he allowed just 104 hits in that same time frame, is a sure sign that he didn’t hurt for missing bats in the Cal League, and thus might now be ready to head back to Double-A again in 2017, far better equipped than he’d been before. He’s always had a good curve ball, and yet the depth and command of that pitch has improved greatly in the last six months to the point where it’s now a legitimate strikeout pitch. Whiffs aside, though, you can even see it in his 2016 spray charts, per MLBFarm.com: Look at those groundout dots against both righties and lefties; hitters pulling ground ball after ground ball to their power-side of the field are hitters rolling over and getting out in front on a good off-speed pitch. For Pike, that’s the better-commanded curveball that’s become a consistent enough breaker to use against opponents on both sides of the plate. The lefty is also learning how to play with eye level, elevating his fastball to play off the 12-to-6 curve, and that success has come through simple trial and error, the product of now 309 innings spent at the High-A level. “I knew I needed to be able to throw my curveball more consistently for strikes, be more consistent in the strike zone overall, and last year to this year, it’s all kind of come together for me,” Pike said, admitting he’s simply more polished as he gets older—and that, in turn, has created in him a strikeout ability he didn’t have before. “I’ve been able to throw better strikes, I’ve really been able to get my curveball down and then elevate a fastball for a strikeout pitch, and I think little by little, everything is coming together for me.” Tyler Pike was a high-round pick, he’s seen both success and failure, and now he’s repeated a level multiple times, all before the age of 23. Is he a prospect? A bust? What if his entire up-and-down half-decade has been something far more than surface-level chaos, and he’s right now exactly where he should be, staring down Double-A in what will be his age-23 season? The development process isn’t always linear, and as sure as I’ve typed that sentence a million times, so did I mention it to Pike near the end of our interview. He nodded. “I’ve been on both sides of it,” he said. “I want to go out there and prove that I was a high-round pick for a reason, but I was a high school guy, too, so I have a lot of developing left to do. I don’t look at my stats, I don’t want to see what my ERA is, I don’t want to see what some person sitting in Seattle has to say about me, I just want to focus on what I have to do every day, and everything else will take care of itself.”
The law of probability has to work out for us with just a couple of these low risk, high reward pitchers.
I would love to set the basement at .500 but with not truly knowing how your pitching will be as the year progresses, 75 is probably pretty solid.
That's pretty high. Pitching is still a massive issue. JT, if history holds true, he'll regress drastically. I'm not sold on Colon, Dickey meh. Back end still sucks. Can Kemp not be fat? Does Freddie regress or is this what he actually is? I don't think they'll be that much better
Board to consider $100 million Braves spring stadium in Naples The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday, Dec. 12, 2016 Atlanta Braves As the Braves continue their long search for a new spring-training home, commissioners in Collier County, Fla., are scheduled to decide Tuesday whether to pursue negotiations with the team to build a $100 million stadium in a Naples development. A preliminary feasibility study, which will be presented to the commissioners, shows the project would be funded largely with taxpayer dollars. Collier County is on Florida’s southwest coast. The Braves, seeking to relocate their spring home from Disney World in 2019, also continue to consider other sites in Florida, including one in Sarasota County. Collier commissioners in April rejected a proposal to build a Braves spring-training stadium in a location deemed too close to residences, but the team in June asked the county to consider further discussions. The county’s resulting feasibility study suggests a different site “in the urban area near adequate highway transportation and away from residential enclaves.” The proposed 70-acre site is in the City Gate commercial development near I-75 on the east side of Naples. Adding an interesting twist to Tuesday’s meeting: Three of the five positions on the Board of Commissioners have turned over since the rejection of the earlier proposal. The new commissioners will be sworn in an hour before taking up the Braves matter. “It’s unfortunate that this has to come to a new board so early, but we’re really working off the Braves’ schedule,” Collier County Manager Leo Ochs told the Naples Daily News. A county document states that if the Board of Commissioners opts to proceed, “staff would immediately begin negotiations with the team and the landowner with an expectation to bring back a tentative draft agreement within 90 days. … Without significant interest from the Board, staff would recommend ending our participation due to the time sensitive nature of this consideration.” The feasibility study indicates the project, including costs of construction, land acquisition and parking, could be paid for with an increase in the county’s hotel tax from 4 percent to 5 percent, as well as money from the state of Florida, the Braves and the county’s general fund. The study suggests debt service and operating expenses would cost up to $9.7 million per year and could be covered with $5.2 million from the hotel tax increase, up to $1 million from the state, up to $2.5 million from the Braves and $1 million from the general fund. Even if commissioners vote to proceed with negotiations and reach a tentative agreement with the Braves, the same board would have to vote again on a zoning change and the hotel tax increased The Braves, who have a recent history of securing taxpayer dollars for major- and minor-league stadiums, want to leave the Disney complex, where they have held spring training since 1998, to get closer to other teams’ facilities. Discussions also continue with a development in the Sarasota County city of North Port. In addition, the Braves have expressed interest in sites in Palm Beach County and, early in the process, the St. Petersburg area. After aiming for two years to have a new spring home open by 2018, the Braves in June re-set their target to 2019 Braves sign lefty John Danks to minor league deal Spoiler David O'Brien The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9:12 p.m Monday, Dec. 12, 2016 Atlanta Braves 5 BRAVES John Danks was in his 10th season with the White Sox when the lefty got released in May. The Braves are signing him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. (AP file photo) The Braves did some low-risk speculating Monday, agreeing to sign left-hander John Danks to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, a person familiar with the situation said. Danks, 31, was released by the White Sox in May after going 0-4 with a 7.25 ERA in four starts and allowing 28 hits, five homers and 11 walks in 22 1/3 innings. The White Sox ate the remainder of the $15.75 million that he was owed last season in the final year of a five-year, $65 million contract extension. With the Braves, he’ll make about $1.5 million on a prorated basis for any time spent in the major leagues. Danks got that big extension with the White Sox back when he was a young starter on the rise, before shoulder problems that required surgery in 2012. He’s been trying ever since to stay healthy and return to something resembling pre-surgery form, but he posted ERAs above 4.70 in each of the past five seasons covered by his contract extension. Coincidentally, he’s the second former Texas Rangers first-round draft pick acquired by the Braves in the past week. They got hard-throwing relief prospect Luke Jackson – a first-round pick in 2010 — in a Thursday trade for pitching prospects Tyrell Jenkins and Brady Feigl. Danks, the ninth overall pick of the 2003 draft, has a 79-104 record, 4.38 ERA and 1,102 strikeouts in 1,503 1/3 innings in 247 starts over 10 major league seasons, all with the White Sox. He made 32 and 30 starts in consecutive seasons before last year, going 11-11 with an ERA of 4.74 in 193 2/3 innings in 2014 and 7-15 with a 4.71 ERA in 177 2/3 innings in 2015. He hasn’t totaled more than 135 strikeouts since 2010, before the shoulder issues stalled his career. Danks won 40 games while averaging more than 200 innings during his ages 23-25 seasons, including a 3.32 ERA in 195 innings in 2008, a 3.77 ERA in 200 1/3 innings in 2009, and a 3.72 ERA with career-highs of 162 strikeouts in 213 innings in 2010.
I'm really excited to see what Acuna does next year. He has is getting more and more attention as time passes by the baseball world.
I go to see him a few times when Rome came to Greenville. Everything (aside from tracking flyballs which is sort of a big deal) seemed really fluid and effortless. Got a great swing, absolutely barreled up balls probably 6 out of his 8 or 9 PA, has speed for days, and a really good arm. Still can't believe they moved the G-Braves to fucking Pearl, MS. Would love to have a chance to check these guys out once or twice a week.
Braves announce minor league coaching staffs for 2017 The Braves announced their minor league coaching staffs for the 2017 season on Monday. Former catcher Damon Berryhill returns to the organization as the manager at Gwinnett along with new pitching coach Reid Cornelius.
Talking Chop’s 2017 Pre-season Braves Prospect Rankings: 21-25 4 Welcome to the first installment of Talking Chop’s Top 25 Braves prospect list by Eric Cole, gvedak, Garrett Spain, Jeff Jones, and Matt Powers Dec 13, 2016, 12:00pm EST TWEET Hooray! It’s prospect list time! I will be honest...creating a list of the Braves’ top prospect every 6 months or so is a huge undertaking. Not only is the system crazy deep to the point where one could very feasibly make a a top 40-50 without breaking a sweat (spoilers: that ain’t happenin’), but a lot of work goes into getting the guys profiles written up and getting an order that we are proud of. That being said, all of the staff really gets excited when it is time to put the list together and have done a great job this time around. Before we get to the first (last?) five prospects on our list, here are a few caveats that I am sure you are going to yell at us about. Guys with significant service time at the major league level are not getting a look here. This is partially because I (Eric) think its dumb to create an arbitrary AB or IP distinction where a guy stops becoming a prospect, partially because common sense should prevail, and partially because being fairly loose with the definition of a “prospect” creates a certain level of turnover on our list that creates healthy discussion. That said, no...we do not hate Dansby Swanson, Aaron Blair, or anyone of that ilk. As the minor league staff here at TC has grown, our list has become a composite of all of our lists. There are 5 voices now and rather than debate the list under our fingers bleed, we make our lists, create a composite from it, and then look at to make sure nothing crazy happened. So far, that system has worked for us and while the composite didn’t match any of our lists....I have yet to hear any complaints so that’s a good thing. Big thanks to Garrett, Gaurav, Matt, and Jeff for putting in the time to make this list happen and for everything they do here. There isn’t a better minor league team anywhere in my mind. Prospect list writing is not a perfect science. Some of you out there will prefer guys who are closer to the majors, others will prefer upside and tools, others with lower risk profiles, and others of you will inexplicably be in love with guys who will never make it to the majors. All of these things are okay....we want discussion to happen. But please, be respectful of one another in the comments. At the end of the day, we are all unabashed baseball fans talking about a sweet farm system. That is not worth ruining anyone’s day over. This list was incredibly tough this go around and many of the votes were extremely close with tiebreakers being employed. The depth of this system is insane and there are very reasonable arguments up and down the list for being higher or lower depending on your tastes. We can easily name 30 guys that we think have a very reasonable shot at making the big leagues...which is nuts. As a result, these rankings have been and will continue to be very fluid as time goes on. These are hardly set in stone, but simply a snapshot of our current thinking. With all of that said, the first five of our Top 25 prospect list features 4 position players and a pitcher. I know the joke is that the Braves have all arms in the minors, but as this week goes on...you may find that that is not the case. On to the first (last?) five prospects..... 25.) Brett Cumberland This year’s 76th overall pick in the draft is a switch hitting catcher who hit .344/.480/.678 for Cal last year, winning Pac-12 Player of the Year. He has very quick hands and swings really hard but also takes his walks, he has more power from the left side of the plate but hits pretty good from the right side as well. He hit 23 homers in 108 NCAA games and was obviously drafted for his bat but he has a decent enough arm to stick behind the plate, throwing out 43 percent of baserunners while in college. One of the digs on Cumberland coming out of the draft was that he didn’t play with a lot of energy behind the plate or that he lacked the athleticism to stick there. I didn’t see that at all when I caught him at Instructional League this fall, he was catching Ian Anderson and stopped a couple of pitches in the dirt from rolling away with runners on and threw a runner out with relative ease. It’s not like the Braves are exactly stocked with major league ready catching so the 21 year old may be the closest to the big leagues of all the backstops. (Spoiler alert he’s the only catcher ON this list) 24.) Braxton Davidson The former first round draft pick took a bit of a step back last year after being promoted to High A Carolina. After a decent 2015 year that saw him have a 17% BB%, and 122 wRC+ for the Rome Braves, Braxton was awarded with a promotion to Carolina where his walk rate shrank (13.8%), his strikeout rate sky rocketed (35.7%), and his contact issues continued. There were reports that the Braves wanted Braxton to be more aggressive at that plate, but that was quickly scraped after he struggled a lot at the start of the season – hitting .192/.261/.308 in April. As the weather got warmer so did Braxton – he hit .264/.398/.471 hitting 11 XBH in 28 games in June, unfortunately he finished the season hitting .212/.353/.348 the rest of the year. The game power, and hit tool that have future values of 50 and 60, respectively, still continue to lag behind the rest of his game. That said, all is not lost – Braxton is still just 20 years old, has a great eye at the plate, and despite likely repeating High-A ball will still be nearly two years younger than his average competition. Progression with his hit tool, and power will be a happy addition to an already loaded farm system. His ranking here is tenuous, there is no question. That said, even voters wanted to at least give him one more shot as a prospect given his promise and age to see if he can improve his approach at the plate enough to tap into his very real raw power enough. The skepticism is understandable given his track record thus far, so this season is likely his last chance to prove his doubters wrong. 23.) Ray-Patrick Didder Arguably the most overlooked player in the Braves system is Ray-Patrick Didder(Link 1). It's likely due to a combination of the depth of the farm system and the fact Didder is still a couple of years away that sometimes has him forgotten about by Braves fans and rarely gets him mentioned by the rest of baseball. Still it's wise to take notice of a guy with such loud tools. While he may be the most overlooked guy in the system, Didder may have the best set of current tools in the system among hitters. That's because Didder has three tools which grade out as 70 or better on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale. Didder has the best arm in the system according to Baseball America(link 2), an arm which very well may grade as an 80 tool. He's not only got a cannon for an arm, but he's mostly accurate and knows how to make a play by either throwing for a runner or hitting the cutoff man. That's what led to 20 outfield assists(19 from center) in 129 games in the outfield at Rome this year, following 9 assists in 59 games for Danville in 2015. Didder's speed is a 70/80 tool as well as he's among the fastest guys in the system- which is a bigger compliment than it appears on the surface with elite level runners Anfernee Seymour, Mallex Smith, and Randy Ventura around. That speed allowed him to steal 37 bases in 49 attempts in Rome, a career high as he improved his success rate from just 10-17 a year ago. The speed and arm are his two best tools, but his glove is also a 70 grade in center. Obviously that's in part due to his arm and speed, which allow for him to cover a lot of ground in the outfield as well as keep an opposing run game in check. This is especially impressive considering the fact he was an infielder in 2014 and only moved to the outfield for 2015. Those tools alone likely are good enough to help Didder reach the big leagues in a bench role similar to a Terrance Gore or a Jarrod Dyson, but if he can hit enough to play regularly he could be a real weapon for the Braves. Didder isn't a total zero at the plate either. He managed to hit .274/.387/.381 in Rome, setting new career highs(outside of the DSL) in on base percentage and slugging while tying the average he posted for the GCL team in 2014. Didder shows great instincts at the plate as well as in the field(and improving on the bases as well), showing he knows how to get on base with his 50 walks and ridiculous 39 hit by pitch- a number that follows the 14 he had last year in about half as many games, to go with 131 base hits. That's reaching base 220 times in 132 games. Didder has some power in his bat, though traditional power will never be his strength. He had 15 doubles, 9 triples, and 6 homers this year, and the speed definitely helped those numbers out. But all he needs to do is hit it into the gap and use his speed to be effective, so the power he provides will just have to be enough to keep pitchers honest- something I think he has in him as he keeps on developing. The 6 homers were a big sign of progress for him after he went from 2013-2015 without a homer, a 623 plate appearance stretch. Didder should reach the big leagues, but ultimate role is very much up in the air and based on his development. He's shown an ability to make adjustments, has excellent instincts, and loud tools so he's certainly got a chance to exceed the expectations that most have for him- but it will all come down to his bat. 22.) Rio Ruiz Rio Ruiz was one of the darlings of the system through the first month for Gwinnett, and had seemed to turn the corner in his career that would vault him into a starting role at third base for Atlanta. He opened with a better than 1.000 OPS through the first 17 games and was playing a noticeably improved third base. Realism soon set in, and his BABIP regressed to a level that displayed his youthful inconsistencies. He struggled at times throughout the season with injury, and finished the season with a fair .271/.354/.403 line. For a middle infielder, that would be more than acceptable, but his lack of power production as a third baseman has been a major sticking point for evaluators despite his age to competition and natural hitting ability. While he managed to keep his walk rate in line with his career average, his strikeout rate hopped to a career-high 21.7%. While the main gripe towards Ruiz is his lack of home run power, perhaps even more disappointing is his .522 OPS against left handed pitching. The scouting backs this up as well-he simply looks lost against left handed pitching. Ruiz is still a talented athlete who is working hard on improving his conditioning, but it seems obvious at this point what his role stands to be. Ruiz projects as a likely platoon player-which given his left handed bat would still be a majority of the playing time-who can deliver solid though unspectacular production at the plate. Where his greatest improvement in projection has lied has been with the glove, where his renewed focus on keeping in shape has left him far more spry on the hot corner and left me impressed on more than a few occasions. When put in a proper position to succeed he could prove a valuable asset for a major league team, at worst as a late inning pinch hitter for an NL squad, but the glaring holes in his game prevent him from taking the leap on the list that he seemed destined for through the first few weeks. 21.) Ricardo Sanchez What a year for Ricardo Sanchez. Playing a full season for the first time in his professional career he put up 119.1 innings – almost three times more than either of his two previous seasons and was rewarded with a Rome Braves championship. His walk rate was still on the high side (4.07 BB/9), but there were multiple games where he flashed why he was the Angels #1 prospects at the time of his trade - including one of the best pitched games I’ve seen from a minor leaguer when he dismantled the Lexington Legends to the tune of 7 innings of 1 hit baseball where he struck out 11 and walked just 1. He rode that start to a strong end of the season where he went 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA, and 1.376 WHIP over his final 12 games. He sits mid to low 90s, with a nice curve, and changeup that is rapidly improving. A full season, along with physically maturing may lead to a big 2017 campaign for the lefty. The most important word in that last sentence is “may” though, as he has been maddeningly inconsistent especially when runners reach base. When things go wrong for Ricardo, they can really go wrong. However, if he can find his command, continue to progress with his offspeed offerings, and continue to make strides with his conditioning, he still has the potential to be a real prospect with the highest projection for him likely to be a middle of the rotation guy with 4/5 starter being a more realistic ceiling. The end of his season was definitely encouraging and swayed enough voters to keep him in the fray for now. However, with a whole bunch of younger guys threatening our top 25 already, Ricardo could easily see himself on the outside looking in if he struggles again in 2017.
Talking Chop’s Top Braves Prospects 2017: Honorable Mention That magical time of year has once again arrived and we, the Talking Chop staff, have voted and will begin soon rolling out our Top 25 Prospects list for the 2017 season. While there was much agreement as to the deserving members of this list, yet a few players remained just on the cusp but a few votes short of official recognition. With those we throw out the first pitch on our coverage, and our Honorable Mention prospects. Jonathan Morales This is now the third consecutive iteration of this list that has seen Morales standing, or perhaps squatting, just on the outside of the top 25. Morales has had questions about age, performance, and defense (in no particular order) give enough reason to question his inclusion and push him just below other candidates. In a position of weakness for the system, Morales had an opportunity in 2016 to capitalize and take a leap towards being the man-in-waiting behind the plate, but regression in his power production and a phenomenal drop in performance through the doldrums of the summer pushed him to the backburner, especially upon the drafting of Brett Cumberland. He did manage to land the majority of the playing time over the second rounder Lucas Herbert, a sign of what the Braves feel they see in his potential. Though his frame does not seem that of your typical quick-twitch athlete, Morales is far from a bumbling David Ortiz type and is extremely quick behind the plate. His pop times are off the charts, as evidenced by an even 50% caught stealing rate this season. While his receiving lags he has taken steps forward and is a more than capable athlete. After 7 home runs in a short 2015 there was hope he could tap into power, but that manifested itself more in high doubles totals (25) in 2016 with equally high contact rates. He consistently put the bat on the ball with a smooth line drive stroke, and was one of the early season darlings of that Rome team, batting between Ronald Acuna and Austin Riley. Soon after the injury to Ronald Acuna, Rome’s offense took another blow as Morales fell into a crazy and likely luck-driven slump that saw him hit .133 over a nearly 2 month period with a .148 BABIP. A mid July resurgence balanced it all out for Morales, who hit .340 over the final month and a half and became one of the main driving forces to Rome’s resurgence. Lucas Herbert Lucas Herbert was fairly obviously rushed to Rome in 2016, being a guy who was already seen as a project before an injury cut his 2015 short after 3 games. That was obvious throughout the season for Herbert as he struggled to make consistent contact or provide any sort of production at the plate. There were some stretches where he showed life, and he was able to display some raw power that makes him intriguing, but he is clearly going to repeat Rome in 2017 with the hopes of better results. That’s not to say this is any sort of a damning circumstance, as this is sort of what we expected Herbert to be as a player. The only thing missing out of Lucas’ arsenal right now is that hit tool, one that drags so drastically it gives serious question to his ability to even be a viable backup. Still, there is no denying that Herbert is a defensive talent to be marveled. While his 34% caught stealing rate isn’t as gaudy as Morales, his showed a much more well-rounded and advanced feel of the game. He handled arguably the most talented staff in minor league baseball with extraordinary ease, showing off talent receiving and calling games as well as a certain feel for each pitcher and when something as simple as a mound visit could be in order. This talent is what the Braves drafted him for and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The future is pretty simple for Herbert, his defense could get him to the major leagues but that hit tool has to come around to keep him there. Juan Yepez Were it not for an injury in the early part of the season, Yepez seemed destined to move his way into the back end of this list. After his call up in May as the primary first baseman following the release of Matt Tellor, he was one of the youngest players in the South Atlantic League, but was still able to hold his own with the bat . Yepez’s injury sidelined him for just short of 3 months but he returned to play some games down the stretch. After hitting .299/.364/.458 in his professional debut, the expectations amongst the more avid fans of the system were very high for Yepez. He didn’t get much opportunity to display power and prove wrong his dissenters that believe that will prevent him from being able to have an impact as a corner infielder, and that is the primary reason he will not open the season on the list (though I predict we’ll see him come June). Yepez does have a strong natural feel for hitting, and can put up good averages and on base percentages with his approach at the plate. He also displayed solid gap power in 2015 (which is the best sample we have to go on), and given his age it’s very reasonable to assume that gap power can develop into average game power. It still remains questionable if Yepez will have a defensive home. His inabilities have already caused him to move off of third base, something the Braves rarely do with a player this young, and reports on him at first are mixed at best. Yepez has to hit and hit very well to make it to the major leagues, especially since he lacks the quickness to play a corner outfield spot. Bryse Wilson I’ll be honest, I was amongst the vocal opposition to the Braves drafting Wilson in the 4th and signing him at $1.2 million-$650k over his $550k slot-to get him away from North Carolina. Wilson has and lot of arm talent, but the questions about his off speed stuff made him seem a destined reliever hardly worth that kind of money. I have to take a step back for a moment and admit that I should reconsider. While the questions still linger on the offspeed stuff, Wilson performed in a way that puts him right up their with our 2016 Draft Trinity of Anderson, Wentz, and Muller and has to date justified the selection though maybe not quite the signing bonus. Sometimes you have to pay the price to sign players away from major colleges, UNC in this instance, and if Brian Bridges feels that Wilson was worth it I can’t really say I have a huge argument against it. Nothing about his scouting report has changed between the draft and now, and why should it...I mean 3 months is hardly enough time for a team to make a meaningful impact against 13 or so years of work. Even so, a 0.68 ERA grabs the attention, though that’s short of a prodigious performance in a complex league. Wilson walked less than 3 batters per 9, struck out more than a batter an inning, and pitched well in every role he has been given. With a full year of training with the Braves system under his belt at the start of Danville’s season in 2017, he will be given a showcase opportunity that if successful will give him enough reason to be pushed onto the list for 2018. Drew Harrington The old man of the crew, who also stands as the best bet to make it to Suntrust Park, comes in at 5th even though I’m not doing this in any order. The reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year was a solid 3rd round sign as a polished lefty who could provide bullpen help to the major league team in the very near future. This is not to say that there is no door for Harrington as a major league starter, far from that actually. Here is a pitcher with 3 potential average or better pitches with potential average or better command and a feel for pitching that is above his level. Still, the changeup lags at this point and he has not used it enough to develop it. Until he does use it, he will not start and even so he does not project for a starting role with the Braves. If necessary, especially given the inconsistencies inherent with young pitchers, he could provide a solid swingman type or some attractive trade bait for a team in need of a controllable back end starter. I don’t believe Harrington will ever see a start on the mound for Atlanta, I don’t see him providing anything more than a couple of 45 FV guys, and he does not have the stuff to be dominant late inning pitcher. These are the types of guys that just don’t show up in prospect lists even if he can fill a valuable role in a major league setting. Harrington should start no lower than Rome next season, and I see Carolina as a likely landing place if he remains as a starter. We’ll get a chance to see him tested early, as he should be moved aggressively to match his polish, and even has the potential to provide relief help in Atlanta this season if a hole opens up in the bullpen late (which always happens). His track record in college and success in a small sample size as a pro leaves the door open for him to outperform our projections and maybe carve out a role in the major league rotation. As of now though, we are in wait and see mode with him.
Why Dansby is considered all but untouchable by Braves December 13, 2016 ajc-sports.ajc, Alert, Atlanta Braves, Daily DOB. The subject was Dansby Swanson and whether top Braves officials believed he was ready to hit second in his first full season in the majors in 2017. This was last week in general manager John Coppolella’s suite at the Winter Meetings near Washington, D.C., after manager Brian Snitker said earlier that day there was a good chance he’d bat Swanson second. The rookie shortstop hit mostly eighth for seven weeks during his initial call-up. “I’m gonna leave that up to Brian,” said Braves president of baseball operations John Hart, seated next to Coppolella in front of several Atlanta reporters in a casual interview in the GM’s suite. “We’re not sending down lineups (to the manager). We brought (Swanson) up for really two reasons: One, we thought he could handle all that. And second, that when he did mistakes, he’d be able to handle that as well, and it would lessen the learning curve for next year. He’s going to have a learning curve for next year, too, don’t think he won’t. It’s not going to be perfect, and that’s okay. “What he did in the two months that he was up here — he learned a lot. He experienced it. And to Snit’s point, I think we call came away going, boy, this guy is okay. He makes a mistake, he going to own it. He’ll think about it and probably won’t make the same one again. You’re seeing him assert and be more confident. He’s just wired that way.” Swanson, 22, was called up from Double-A on Aug. 17, just 14 months after being the No. 1 selection in the June 2015 draft, by an Arizona team that surely rues trading him to the Braves along with Gold Glove center fielder Ender Inciarte and pitching prospect Aaron Blair in exchange for Shelby Miller at the 2015 Winter Meetings. Swanson lived up to the hype as the former Marietta High School and Vanderbilt University start hit .302 for Atlanta with 11 extra-base hits (three home runs), a .361 on-base percentage and .442 slugging percentage in 145 plate appearances over 38 games. Teams that inquired about the availability of Swanson in particularly big trade proposals – i.e., Chris Sale – at or before the Winter Meetings quickly learned the shortstop was unavailable. He’s as close to untouchable as any Brave right now. So I asked Hart if people around baseball understand why Swanson is off-limits in trades, since his statistics are strong but nothing jumps off the page. I asked this not because I didn’t understand – believe me, I do; I probably wouldn’t trade Swanson for anyone this side of Mike Trout – but because occasionally I’d get a response from another write or from a fan wondering if Swanson was really untouchable and if so, why? “Yeah, they do,” Hart said of other teams’ officials grasping why the Braves are so committed to keeping Swanson. “And we talked about this — if you want to put the grades out there he’s not going to be the guy that you’re looking to hit 30 homers. He’s not that ‘loud tool’ guy, where he’s going to steal 60 bases, hit 30 homers. He’s not that guy. But the people that know – he’s a shortstop, makes the plays, handles the bat, does every little thing to help you win a game. Does something to help you win a game all the time. And I think – I know – baseball people realize what a special kind of a team guy he’s going to be. Those guys are hard to find. “I mean, I had Omar Vizquel for years. Loved him. And he was always in the shadow of A-Rod because (Alex Rodriguez) hit 40. And (Nomar) Garciaparra, and all those guys. But Dansby’s got the same kind of qualities. Omar was a gifted offensive player, but (beyond that) he’s one of those guys that you just go, man, he just makes your team better, makes your clubhouse better. To answer your question, everybody I talk to says, ‘Boy, I love your shortstop (Swanson). I love the way this guy plays.’ The guys got some qualities that remind me of some really good players. Great leaders.” Coppolella then got into the conversation: “Yeah, and just to John’s points, I don’t think you can put any playables or comparisons on him, I just know we’re better with him, and the whole is greater than the parts. This is a special guy that makes people around him better. He’s in the right spot, he gets the big hit at the right time. And he’s somebody that you feel good when you see him there in the lineup at shortstop. He’s just somebody we’re real fortunate to have. And we hope that he’s here for a very long time.” Hart added, “The other thing, too, for people who don’t get it: You look up and Braves, after all these years of success, had to step back and rebuild. And all of a sudden you look up and you have a chance to a acquire a shortstop who grew up 10 minutes away from a brand-new ballpark (SunTrust Park, opening in 2017). Hometown guy, on top of all the other things that you look at. It’s not like we’re in Seattle and this kid is from Georgia, or Minnesota. Guy’s the hometown kid. I mean, Minnesota, once they signed Joe Mauer (to a long contract) when he was a second-year player, you go, c’mon, it’s hard to (get hometown guys like this), that’s part of the equation.” Coppolella said, “For me, the thing with Dansby is, winner. This guy won in college, came up and he’s 24-18 up here, we finished strong. This guy just finds a way to win.” I mentioned to Hart that Swanson also seemed like the kind of guy a team would never have to worry about doing the wrong thing, on or off the field. “Ever,” Hart said in agreement. “Ever. He’s a guy. (For Hart, saying a player is “a guy” is praise.) He’ll keep growing and growing. He’s special. He’s a special guy. He’s authentic. We’re happy to have him. Coppy’s right – we’re happy to have him.” • The Braves signed longtime White Sox lefty John Danks to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. Danks is married to country singer Ashley Monroe, who’s also part of the band Pistol Annies along with star Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley. Here’s a solo cut from her album “The Blade.”