Atlanta Braves put several on Fangraphs trade values list
The Rise of the Braves
4 Atlanta Braves made the main list; 3 others were mentioned in other, lesser categories. Let’s see how you’d guess correctly on which ones:
In a category of “Long-term Control of Young and Solid Everyday Bats”, we find 2 honorably mentioned:
Riley is 3rd among this group, and has shown his power while providing the Braves with another 6.5 years of team control.
Sure, he’s been slumping over the past month, but this is not about the immediate view, but it’s about the future projection, and Riley’s start showed quite enough to impress a lot of people – Braves fans definitely included.
Swanson is down to 3.5 years of control – yes, he’s already soon to be in the arbitration process – but his bounce-back year has cemented him in the #2 spot in the Braves order while providing excellent defense.
That kind of offense/defense combination at the shortstop position is still a fairly rare commodity, and thus he garnered a mention.
Max Fried didn’t quite make the list of “Cost-Effective Starters with Control and 3-Plus WAR Upside”, though his name was invoked as one who could qualify in this group depending on his further development over the next year.
Despite a debut in 2017, Fried is still working toward his second full year in the majors (he’ll be short of that by a fair margin at year’s end), and thus the Braves still enjoy control of his services through 2024.
Those are among the honorable mentions: here’s the members of the main list…