Pitching IS the Trademark of Braves Organization

Late last week, I posted a scouting report on Atlanta Braves third-base prospect Edward Salcedo. I received several comments voicing concern over the lack of hitters throughout the organization’s minor-league levels.

But as much as I understand the frustration (I certainly don’t enjoy watching a starting lineup full of non-prospects and organizational players), I’d urge readers to adopt a more big-picture view of the Braves organizational philosophy. And it’s really quite a brilliant strategy: leverage the ability to develop arms better than anybody else to fill needs at the big-league level. After all, ultimately it’s about World Series rings and not how many sluggers an organization has on its Double-A roster, isn’t it?

At the trade deadline, I was shocked that the Braves were able to acquire Michael Bourn without dealing a single “key” prospect. Sure, Paul Clemens (SP), Brett Oberholtzer (SP), Juan Abreu (RP) and Jordan Schafer (CF) might all wind up being big-leaguers in some capacity. but Michael Bourn is a top-flight center fielder who posted the second-highest WAR at the position between 2009 to 2011. For me, the sum of the parts who were dealt for Bourn didn’t equal one of the better center fielders in baseball.

Two years earlier, the Braves’ first attempt to acquire its center fielder of the future failed miserably — though it fit the Braves’ organizational M.O. at the time. Nate McLouth, fresh off a 3.9 WAR in 2008 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, was dealt in the midst of his second consecutive 3+ WAR campaign for a solid, but not spectacular package of prospects that included Charlie Morton (SP), Jeff Locke (SP) and Gorkys Hernandez (CF). In essence, the difference between Bourn and McLouth on paper was the addition of a hard-throwing reliever in Abreu to offset the difference in WAR.

Go back even further, Tim Hudson was acquired from the Athletics for two pitching prospects and an outfielder as well. The key piece in that deal was Dan Meyer, who was expected to fill the roles of Mark Mulder or Barry Zito.

After all, the Atlanta Braves is an organization capable of winning a World Series next season. And with the likes of Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino and Mike Minor, the trade possibilities are limitless should Atlanta target a player and decide they have to have him. Of course that scenario already backfired once with the Mark Teixeira deal, but that’s beside the point. Arms equal trade leverage and Atlanta has enough pitching to throw its weight around.

If the Cincinnati Reds are serious about dealing Joey Votto, Frank Wren’s number is on Walt Jocketty’s speed dial. If Atlanta thought Jose Reyes was the missing piece and worth having at any cost, a deal most likely would have been made. Had the Braves coveted Adrian Gonzalez, a Freeman, Teheran and Vizcaino package would have crushed anything the Boston Red Sox could have offered, in terms of prospects. For me, the Braves are baseball’s most powerful organization.

For that reason, the fact the Braves don’t really have any top-flight hitting prospects isn’t that important. If Atlanta has a need at the big-league level, the pitching prospects are there to fix holes while a handful of potential regulars (Tyler Pastornicky, Edward Salcedo, Christian Bethancourt and Andrelton Simmons) marinate in the minors. The next wave might not be as exciting as Freddie Freeman or Jason Heyward, but average regulars at minimum salaries still provide tremendous value.

It’s easy to point to the aging Braves and assume the window of opportunity for World Series contention is closing. But that would be missing the point, because the Braves are a very healthy organization.

Throughout the off-season, my reports on Atlanta’s hitting prospects will be cast in a grim light — which is valid when viewed on a one-off basis. But the ultimate indicator of success or failure is whether a team contends for — and wins — World Series rings. The Braves should be in the mix for years to come. In writing about prospects, I find myself less interested in standings and more impressed with who’s on a team’s top-20 prospects list. The realities of Major League Baseball couldn’t be further from the truth.