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The Braves drafted a potential #1 starter last night...
Carter Stewart has the best curveball in this draft AND a fastball that has moved from the low 90s to high 90s recently, his ceiling is elite.
When you draft a very young pitcher you draft for ceiling, not that he's not good already, his ERA was .90 in his senior year in hs.
He is 6'6'' 225lb with a great build for building easy momentum....very smart pick.
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.91 ERA in high school and was only 6-4. What a terrible team. His curve could be devastating in the big leagues especially with all the power hitters striking out 150+ times a year. But he might get traded for Manny Machado.
Not a “negative Nancy,” but
“Best curveballs” is a Concerning comment to me. Too many times these young guys throw too many growing up and it shreds their elbows long term.
I know they checked and prodded him, but I hope he holds up.
I just don't see Liberty taking on a super max salary like Machado will command.
It's always a concern, but he has easy mechanics and he just increased his velocity, so I don't think he was maxing out his torque in hs.
I think the Braves have been stacking arm talent for that exact reason, plus with all the young talent being under control for a while, it's the perfect time to take on a big contract. What's your take on the Braves' plan with all these arms?
I think the Braves need a pitcher to have at least one TJ surgery before they give them a good look.
Let them walk for nothing, trade them for nothing, or hang on to them until they bust out. John Smoltz ain’t walkin thru that door!!
Hopefully a Greg Maddox or Tommy Glavine does though
The organization has young starting pitching prospects because many never reach their early projections. You need many good prospects to give you a good chance at ending up with a good rotation.
I love how they are going for the best available. They got a few “steals” from what insiders are saying.
You can never have enough starting pitching prospects. The starting rotation for the Braves in 2010 included veteran Tim Hudson plus relative youngsters Kris Medlin, Jair Jurrgens, Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor, and Brandon Beachy.
Protential and enthusism was high in the organization. Injuries took down most of those guys.
that was, in the beginning, a very promising rotation. Sort of weird how it all kind of evaporated for that group. Precisely why you are right about not ever having enough pitching prospects. They can, hopefully, turn some of those prospects into some position players....I think catcher is a position of big need for them. I wonder if it is easier/safer to project how a hitter will do as opposed to projecting how a pitcher will do down the road. If one takes the Braves approach, and trades pitching prospects for a position player, at least they'll have some hitting data on the trade prospect, making it, just maybe, easier to project ahead.
Yeah but the cream will rise and they will be in the majors for the Braves. They will be blocking other arms in the minors with big league ability at some point in time. The quality and quantity of arms the Braves currently have in the minors is the best in baseball. I really don't see the Braves allowing all those guys walk with nothing in return. The owners have to open the pocketbooks now or sometime in the near future. With the new stadium and the success the team is already experiencing, people will come to games and buy merchandise and make them some money. The Braves need one or two bats and they become legit contenders for the foreseeable future.
I've only looked through rd 4 so far.
The 2nd rd pick, Greyson Jenista has to recognize off speed pitches better. Even at the college level he bailed awkwardly too often.
The 4th rd pick, pitcher Tristan Beck from Stanford missed the entire 2017 season with a back injury. He was rated a possible 1st rd pick before that. He wasn't as good in 2018 as he was in 2016, but he has ability.
Really though, it's the slider that does the most damage. Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson both dodged the elbow bullet, but Smoltz, Bob Gibson and other all time greats weren't so lucky.
This is why Clayton Kershaw is probably entering his decline. He throws both the curve and slider with vicious elbow twists.
Plus his motion is the most awkward looking thing - too much stress on his body.
He's been as good as there's ever been to this point in his career, but I agree he's not mechanically sound for the long run.
A shocker, The Braves tried to low ball Stewart with a contract valued well below his spot in the draft and he opted to play college ball. This is fall out from the sanctions the old former GM brought about.
Potentially get the same pick in the upcoming 2019 draft so all is not lost
https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1567898