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Atlanta Braves and Dustin Peterson… Where to go from here?

By Alan Carpenter

Jul 8, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Baseballs in a bin for batting practice prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 8, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Baseballs in a bin for batting practice prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dustin Peterson. courtesy: milb.com, photo credit: Nikolaus /

How Does This Work for Atlanta?

As we’ve noted here, with confirmation today from Mark Bowman, there will be money to spend this off-season:

"“A specific number has not been provided, but even with a conservative estimate, they should have at least $60 million to spend.”"

You can argue about what they might spend that money on, or whether there indeed is enough quality to go around this off-season, but players like Dustin Peterson can make those decisions even more difficult.

Sure, it’s possible – likely, even – that the Braves will start Peterson in AAA for 2017 to give that power a chance to really ramp up before giving him a shot at the majors, but what does that mean for the free-agent market?

Originally a third baseman coming up, Peterson switched to the outfield to take the pressure off of his glove.  He’s not a speed burner and his arm isn’t the best, either.  That pretty much limits him to his current position:  left field (yes, he’s played a bit in CF, but that’s been due to the lack of a true CF being available on those days).  But he’s been hitting the cover off the ball lately, and that will get you noticed.

You may have also noticed that we could use a thumper bat in left field… or maybe right field.

So…

Does that mean Atlanta might choose a stop-gap player for the position until they can learn whether Peterson is the real deal?  Does that mean Hector Olivera (now 3 for 20 at Gwinnett) might actually have a chance to be that gap filler?

Does that make Peterson trade bait if the Braves can leverage that cash position to acquire a bigger-name LF this off-season?  Do they opt to wait on Peterson’s ‘arrival’ instead?

This is where things get a little interesting going forward.  The Braves want to assemble a team that’s good at all aspects of the game.  Internally developed options are the best, but it’s difficult to determine whether some of these players will bust out and show that they can deliver the goods.

Joey Terdoslavich was one such prospect.  In 2013 at AAA, he hit .318 with 42% extra-base hit rate.  That was his break-out season…and it was not repeated.  Of course he was also 24½ years old for most of that year, and that does make a difference.

The usual practice employed for all but the topmost prospects is that teams do what they need to do to fill holes at the time the needs arise.  They don’t wait around much for a prospect to blossom.

If a stud left fielder somehow becomes available in the trade market, then the Braves might very well go get him.  If scouts report that Peterson is “that guy”, then that decision will change.  Right now, he appears to be kinda on the fringes:  probably needing time in AAA, probably needing time to finish figuring out what his bat will ultimately bring.

Repeating this year’s success would definitely be an indicator of good things for the future… but that won’t be known for a while… though it looks pretty good for him.

Next: More Minor League Stand-outs

It’s these kinds of calls that make GM’s rewrite their plans… a lot.  But at least it’s done for good reasons.

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