The Atlanta Braves have a plethora of young starting pitching depth in their organization that provides them with plenty of options.
The Atlanta Braves are known for being an organization that prides itself on pitching. That still applies to this day with the amount of young pitching they currently have in the system.
Quickly, let us run through the young pitching depth currently on the Braves roster.
Max Fried has solidified himself at the top of the Braves rotation not just in the present but for the future. Next, guys like Ian Anderson, Touki Toussaint, Huascar Ynoa, Kyle Muller, and Tucker Davidson have shown the Braves a lot of promise in the last year.
There are guys like Kyle Wright and Sean Newcomb, who may seem to have lost their way in the organization but not too long ago were considered top prospects.
Guys like Jared Shuster, Jasseel De La Cruz, Freddy Tarnok, Bryce Elder, and Victor Vodnik all figure to be major league ready within the next year or two. Spencer Strider has made great strides this year and came out of almost nowhere to join that list of top pitching prospects.
The Braves’ top draft pick, Ryan Cusick, was a college pitcher, which means he could also be a fast riser through the system. I would mention Spencer Schwellenbach in this same category (Braves 2nd round pick), but unfortunately, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Oh, the Braves also have a guy named Mike Soroka. While there is some uncertainty surrounding Soroka because of the Achilles injury, he should still be in the Braves’ long-term plans if (when) he becomes healthy.
The Braves are loaded at pitching
The Braves have great depth at the position. One of the goals a few years ago was to have wave upon wave of talent coming up to the major league level.
Unfortunately, the Braves will not be able to keep all of these guys. There is just not enough room.
It would be nice to build a rotation full of homegrown talent. Most of these young guys have the talent to be solid number 2’s or 3’s in a major league rotation if they continue to develop.
A couple have the potential to become legit front-line starters if they reach their ceiling. There will also be a few that end up in the bullpen.
A few, unfortunately, will flame out. It looks like Kyle Wright might be trending towards this direction. He has looked good in Gwinnett in recent months though so maybe he is figuring it out.
This depth does provide another option for the Braves. The ability to package a few guys together to get major league talent to benefit the team.
The Braves farm system may not be what it once was, but there are still enough chips to make a big move. Using a few of the pitching assets in a trade package could be an enticing offer for a team looking to rebuild soon.
The longer the Braves hold some of these prospects, the more they risk losing their trade value. A few years ago, Bryse Wilson could have been used in a trade package to acquire a bigger name rather than for Richard Rodríguez, a reliever.
Rodríguez has been good in his brief time in Atlanta, so the move has been a positive, but the point being that Wilson had a higher value a few years ago. A few of these pitching prospects will lose value as they come up to the big leagues.
However, there is the risk that the Braves run into another Adam Wainwright scenario if they trade some of these pitchers. It is important to note that Alex Anthopoulos has yet to trade a top prospect during his tenure with the Braves. Maybe this offseason or next deadline could finally be the time to do so.
The Braves are in an interesting position with the pitching depth currently in the organization. They have the ability to build a homegrown pitching staff that would allow them to spend elsewhere to improve the team.
They also have the ability to improve the team by using these guys in a trade package. A lot of prospects never pan out, so it makes sense to trade prospects for major leaguers that can help the team push for a title.
Time will tell what Atlanta does with this pitching depth. One thing is certain though, having depth is never a bad thing and the Braves have plenty of it at pitching within the organization.