Atlanta Braves: Trading Heyward was the Right Move
Jason Heyward was my favorite Atlanta Brave since Chipper Jones. He played spectacular defense, got on base, and served as a respectable face of the franchise. As the old cliche goes “he played the game the right way”. All that being said, trading him along with Jordan Walden to the St. Louis Cardinals for Shelby Miller and prospect Tyrell Jenkins was the right move.
As we know all too well, Heyward’s contract is up at the end of the 2015 season and it was looking increasingly likely that he was not going to sign back with Atlanta. In the end it appears John Hart felt it was best to extract maximum value for the former Braves star rather than letting him walk away for nothing.
The Haul
In exchange for the aforementioned Heyward, Braves fans will welcome Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins to Atlanta. Most casual fans should know Miller. His first full season came in 2013. That year he tossed 173.1 innings, finishing with a 3.06 ERA and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings. During the postseason he strangely seemed to be sent to Siberia, or Mike Matheny forgot he was a person. He only threw one inning and shots of him looking lonely in the bullpen became a source of comedy on various forms of social media.
2014 was a bumpier ride for Miller. His strikeouts per nine dipped to 6.2, and he ended the year with an ERA of 3.74. Not quite a sophomore slump, but also not the dominance some projected for him.
Miller has a good fastball that sits around 93 or 94 MPH and reaching up to 97, when he is at his best. The speed of his fastball varies depending on whether he throws his cut fastball, his four seam fastball, or his sinker. He typically relies on the four seamer.
Last year he struggled to command that fastball as well as his plus curveball, which led to an increase in walk rate to 9.6 percent. When he is commanding it his curveball serves as his “out pitch”, while his changeup is clearly his worst pitch. He only threw it 2.24 percent of the time last season according to Brooks Baseball.
Then there is Tyrell Jenkins. Rated by some as a top 100 prospect in 2012, Jenkins projects as a middle of the rotation starter down the road. In the Florida State League last season (High-A ball) Jenkins threw 74 innings, posting a 3.28 ERA with 41 strikeouts. It was his best season in professional baseball, and hopefully a sign of things to come. In 2013 Derrick Goold offered this scouting report of Jenkins in Baseball America.
"Jenkins has a long, lithe frame that made him a successful quarterback and sprinter in high school. It also creates the leverage for 93-96 mph fastballs and the strength to maintain velocity throughout his starts….Jenkins gets depth on his curveball with an over-the-top arm slot that scouts don’t love and he doesn’t always throw it with enough power. He’s developing a solid changeup."
Was it the Right Move?
As much as I love Heyward, I can’t help but feel this was the right move for the Braves. Heyward was likely gone after 2015, and the Braves had to act fast. It is better to trade him in the off-season when you still have leverage rather than waiting to the trade deadline where teams are less likely to give up value for a half season rental.
When it comes to Jordan Walden, acquiring Arodys Vizcaino made him expendable. Walden has been a solid set-up man for Atlanta these last few seasons, but with several late game options emerging within the organization there was no reason to keep him around.
In exchange the Braves get a 24 year old starting pitcher, who still has tremendous upside, under four years of club control and a good starting pitching prospect. This is a solid haul, and once you get past the emotion of losing a guy like Heyward that value is easy to see. Losing Heyward hurts, and seeing him in a Cardinals uniform will be downright nauseating, but it had to be done.
Now that this trade is done…who’s next?