Braves 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings Day 2
By Fred Owens
Day two of the 2014 Fansided Faux-Winter Meetings simulation begins with a trade that mirrored yesterday’s shocker from the Braves. I think I did a bit better but perhaps you’ll let me know.
The Trade
Yesterday in a move similar to the one John Hart actually made, I sent Jason Heyward and David Carpenter to St.Louis in exchange for Shelby Miller and Stephen Piscotty,
Shelby Miller
After yesterday’s bombshell everyone should know about Shelby Miller. He features a mid 90s fastball, a curve that isn’t a finished product, a changeup with less bite than most would like and a cutter that looks like a mini-slider. The curve and change need to be addressed but the a cutter looking like a slider isn’t necessarily a bad thing unless it looks like a hanging slider. The other complaint I’ve heard is that his arm motion is destined to shorten his career.
Quite frankly a pitcher needing to improve his changeup couldn’t find a better place than Atlanta and we’ve had success in making little curves into better ones as well. Roger McDowell all his crew have been very successful in that area. Fixing the arm action is more problematic particularly in a pitcher who has to get out there every five days and do his job. I’m certain the Cards tried to fix it and that likely contributed to his down year as much as the league getting a book on him. Time will tell.
What Miller needs to be for the Braves is a solid three or four starter in the mix with Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Alex Wood and David Hale. He’s under control for four years and doesn’t cost much making him valuable in terms of payroll certainty as well. Like every young pitcher today Miller could have arm trouble tomorrow morning or next month or next year. I – and apparently the Braves – hope he can stay healthy and adapt.
Stephen Piscotty
With the the sad passing of Oscar Taveras, Piscotty moved up the Cards depth charts a notch. He was their fourth ranked prospect after 2013 and had a pretty good year Memphis in the PCL. He was drafted as a third baseman but the Cardinals moved him to right field and that’s where he’s been playing. His bat looks more like a third baseman’s than the traditional corner outfielder. John Sickles offered this scouting report in a post for Minor League Ball.
"“. . . (Scouts say) he handles both fastballs and breaking balls well and is tough to trick. Although he is rather aggressive and doesn’t draw a large number of walks, he also doesn’t chase junk outside of the zone; his approach is one of controlled aggression. He’ll pull for power occasionally but for the most part he goes with the pitch and is content to hit line drives to the outfield . . .he doesn’t run well enough to play center field, and without more home run power he’ll have trouble finding a regular role as a corner outfielder.Ultimately we are faced with the same questions we had pre-season: will more power come?The fact that he’s maintained his propensity for contact is a good sign: he isn’t over-matched by advanced breaking pitches or plus velocity. The key will be adding more loft to his swing and turning his strength into home run power, but without losing the positive attributes of his approach.Whether he can do that or not, I don’t know.”"
Were I the actual GM I’d see if he remembers how to play third base. He has the arm for it and the glove was good enough in college but he couldn’t get his footwork down around the hot corner. The Braves have the infield coaches that could get that right if they wish. He’s big enough and strong enough to deliver 20 homers and his good contact skills are a plus. I’d start him in Gwinnett try try the transition to third moving him back to the outfield if that fails.
That’s A Wrap
I think I did a bit better than Hart did yesterday but of course I wasn’t dealing with the restrictions he had. I have other moves under discussion designed to rebuild without a complete collapse. If you have suggestion let me know and I’ll see what I can do.