Atlanta Braves: 3 Prospects Likely to be Traded at Deadline
We take a look at three Atlanta Braves prospects that are likely being dangled as trade bait with the deadline approaching on August 31.
This won’t be much different than the article I wrote during the offseason looking at five Atlanta Braves prospects that could be traded.
But now that we have a little more information on these players I wanted to narrow the list down to the three most likely candidates to be traded over the next week.
Keep in mind, that a player has to be on a team’s 60-man player pool in order to be traded during the 2020 season.
So if they’re not currently in that pool, they can’t be traded.
I’m assuming a team could quickly add a prospect to that pool if they needed to trade them, but then if they have to replace someone in that player pool then the person they remove can’t be added back.
That’s one of the many things that makes this trade deadline so unique and why we may not see a lot of deals go down.
The other reason is that just about every team in the National League is within five games of a playoff spot with a month to go. A lot of teams who don’t make the postseason a lot will likely ride this out for a chance in the playoffs.
And then you also have to consider that teams won’t be willing to give up much for rental players knowing you could only get one month out of them. Plus, this season could come to a screeching halt at any moment and you’d get nothing out of the trade.
But I do think Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves make a couple of small moves. However, I don’t expect there to be many — if any — blockbusters this trade deadline by any team.
I won’t do a separate article on prospects that seem untouchable, but I’ll say Cristian Pache, Ian Anderson, and Shea Langeliers are the only three I’d consider untouchable at this point.
Atlanta Braves – Touki Toussaint
When Touki Toussaint got pulled from the game by manager Brian Snitker in the middle of an-bat the other night I instantly felt like that might be the last time we see him pitch in a Braves uniform.
That’s not something you see Snitker do, and it just shows the level of frustration he has with Touki — and really all of his young pitchers — right now.
In 21.2 innings this year Touki has given up 19 earned runs on 20 hits and 13 walks with 28 strikeouts.
Over parts of three seasons with the Atlanta Braves he has an ERA of 5.65 in 92.1 innings with 105 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.54.
After a disastrous 2019 season, we were hoping Touki could bounce back in 2020.
And at times he showed us what he’s capable of. But he’s never been able to put it together on a consistent basis.
Touki still has plenty of team control left and minor league options, so it’s possible the Braves continue to work with him.
But I get the feeling the Braves are ready to part ways, and it’s probably in the best interest of Touki for him to get a fresh start somewhere else.
As a fan, seeing him get pulled like that the other day and then the broadcast constantly showing him in the dugout was heartbreaking.
We root for these guys and want to see them succeed and feel for them when they don’t.
My hope for Touki is that he can get on a team where the expectations aren’t as high and he can go out there every fifth day and get better.
There will be plenty of teams out there who think they can unlock Touki and get him going.
Atlanta Braves — Bryse Wilson
It’s kind of hard to believe that Bryse Wilson only has 28.2 innings in the big leagues. I feel like he’s had plenty of opportunities, but that’s still a fairly small sample size.
Still, I think he’s someone the Braves will be dangling out there in trade conversations.
It’s pretty telling to me that with how desperate the Braves have been to fill out the starting rotation this year Wilson still hasn’t been given a chance.
That should tell you something about how the Braves feel about him and his future with this team.
Like many on this site, I’ve always felt Wilson is better suited for the bullpen. But honestly, he hasn’t done a great job there either for the Braves.
Again, a very small sample size in the big leagues, but he has a 13.50 ERA and 2.83 WHIP as a reliever and 5.56 ERA and 1.68 WHIP as a starter. And his K/9 is actually much better as a starter.
I don’t know what the answer is for Bryse, but I don’t think he’s in the Braves’ plans for the future at this point.
Like with Touki, there will be some team out there that believes that can unlock Bryse Wilson and I hope that’s the case for him.
Atlanta Braves — Tucker Davidson
This is one I certainly hope is not true, but if the Braves do make a big splash at the trade deadline he’s a name that could be included in such a deal.
Again, assuming Ian Anderson is untouchable, then the prospects most teams will likely turn to at that point will be Davidson.
Davidson is a 24-year-old lefty that reached Triple-A in 2019 and appears to be ready to make his big league debut.
And that’s why I think he could be available in trades because otherwise, I have no clue why the Braves haven’t given him a shot in their big league rotation.
He appears to be the most polished of any of the Braves prospects that haven’t been given a shot yet, and there’s no reason to delay starting his service time clock.
Like with Wilson, this is kind of telling to me that maybe the Braves just aren’t huge believers in Davidson.
Having seen him in person, I certainly don’t view him as a top of the rotation starter, but he’s someone I feel confident will be able to go out there and give you five or six solid innings every time out.
And perhaps the Braves call him up this week and give him a shot, making this part of the article pointless, but I still think if there is a big trade out there Davidson could be the one involved.
Again, I certainly hope that’s not the case and I hope he gets a chance in the Braves’ big league rotation soon.
Next. How Clutch are These Braves?. dark
Let me know in the comments below which prospects you think could be on the way out this trade deadline.