Braves may have missed out on big time talent that was right in front of them

The Atlanta Braves aren't strangers to featuring some of the best young talent in baseball. They pride themselves on drafting and developing some of the best players in the game.

However, sometimes hard decisions need to be made, and those players find themselves elsewhere. Atlanta had to make the hard decision to do this a few years ago when they traded for Matt Olson. Freddie Freeman's strange ultimatum forced the Braves to consider an alternative.

When this move was made with the A's, the Braves parted with some talented prospects. This included Christian Pache, Ryan Cusick, Joey Estes, and Shea Langeliers. Langeliers was Atlanta's number one pick in the 2019 draft.

Letting Langeliers go was a very hard thing to do, as the Baylor standout came with high expectations to be a very good hitter. Langeliers also has a great arm behind the dish. All of the prospects traded had high expectations, but he was the highlight of this trade package.

The Braves are very good at drafting and developing catchers. Langeliers was one of them, and so was William Contreras. Both of those talented prospects were traded away, and they have each become excellent MLB catchers.

Braves giving up both Shea Langeliers and William Contreras worked out fine in the end, but it still hurts

Langeliers proved his talent even more during Atlanta's recent series against the Athletics. His bat was on display the entire game, as well as some nice defensive work behind the plate.

He had two homers during the weekend, including a no-doubter off of Chris Sale. His homer was the lone run put up by the A's in that game. However, it propelled Langeliers to the MLB lead in home runs, with five on the season thus far.

An interesting fact about his performance is that he has the second-highest fWAR by a position player since the 2025 All-Star break. A 3.8 WAR is extremely good, and even better when you see that's in the same company as Shohei Ohtani.

It just goes to show that the Braves know how to evaluate catching talent. The A's are reaping the benefits of their trade with Atlanta, despite the other three players in the trade fizzling out. Crazy to think the Braves could have had three of the best-hitting catchers in baseball if they didn't have to trade them.

Drake Baldwin's insane performance makes this all a moot point, as Atlanta ended up with a great offensive catcher. Olson has also been worth his weight in gold. Despite his struggles at times, he's been one of the best hitters on the team.

It's hard to see talent excel elsewhere, but it should reassure fans that the Braves know what they are doing when evaluating young talent.