Atlanta Braves mailbag looks at breakout candidates and a Kris Bryant trade
By Fred Owens
Breaking out is harrrrd to doooo. . .
The Atlanta Braves have a lot of prospects on the horizon, but Justin wants to know who the next unexpected pop-up star might be?
Who would be your dark horse breakout player for this year? And why?
— vols by 90 (@justin_west5) December 2, 2019
Asking about a dark-horse prospect eliminates the usual suspects – Cristian Pache, Drew Waters, and Ian Anderson. Kyle Wright is due to break out but again, not darkhorse, so I’ll go with Patrick Weigel.
Weigel was on track to break-out before his UCL broke in June 2017. He pitched a little in instructs in 2018 and made a trip to Atlanta to watch a game from the bullpen last July, before returning to Gwinnett to finish the year.
Although he started for the first half of the season, Weigel’s fastball sits at 93-94 as a starter, but in relief, it touches 97-98. He pitched well in both roles.
| Role | ERA | GS | IP | ER | WHIP | SO9 | SO/W | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Starter | 3.20 | 18 | 59 | 21 | 1.32 | 7.6 | 1.47 | .215 | .344 | .356 | .700 |
| Reliever | 1.35 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 0.65 | 9.5 | 3 | .090 | .197 | .224 | .421 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/2/2019.
Weigel provides an Andrew Miller-style, multiple innings, middle relief with no serious R/L split, and he’s tougher on batters with runners on.
| Split | G | H | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| vs. RHB as RHP | 28 | 29 | 7 | 19 | 31 | .207 | .335 | .371 | .707 |
| vs. LHB as RHP | 28 | 21 | 2 | 22 | 40 | .159 | .282 | .273 | .555 |
| Bases Empty | 28 | 26 | 3 | 24 | 45 | .174 | .313 | .295 | .608 |
| Runners On | 25 | 24 | 6 | 17 | 26 | .195 | .306 | .358 | .663 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/2/2019
The bullpen should be a strength this year, but injuries happen, and extra pieces are always needed. If Weigel gets his chance, I think he’ll stick around.
Unfinished business?
Jason wants to know if the Atlanta Braves will finally go for it with a finished roster this year.
Jason feels Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos allowed the team to enter the last two seasons with known weak spots in the roster and wonders if the GM would do that again this year. The answer is, it depends on the market.
Having created a bullpen as good as any in the NL and arguably all of baseball, most believe the Braves still need to address the rotation, third base, the outfield, and the bench; I’ll take these in reverse order.
Replacing Charlie Culberson isn’t that hard. Charlie Clutch is a nice myth, and in 2018 he provided big hits. However, he quickly returned to his pre-Braves profile in 2019. There are several players who could fill that role more effectively, including Johan Camargo, if he can find his bat and motivation.
The belief that an Adam Duvall – Nick Markakis platoon provides a winning combination is overly optimistic. Adding a bat via free agency or trade makes sense, and it isn’t hard to find candidates in both arenas. Corey Dickerson and Trey Mancini are just a couple of names that fit.
Getting more production from left-field is more important if the third base market becomes . . . let’s call it problematic?
I don’t believe Anthopoulos will allow the team to enter 2020, flipping a coin to see if Camargo or Austin Riley play third-base unless he adds a 30 homer outfield bat. Even then, he’ll want “certainty” there… and that’s a word he’s used in interviews on the subject.
Third-base need not be Josh Donaldson or nothing. Trade candidates include (in order of cost), Kyle Seager, Eduardo Escobar, Hunter Dozier, and Brian Anderson, all of whom provide power and defense.