3 Premium Prospects the Atlanta Braves should use for trade bait

There is pain in the process.  You don’t want to give up the best of your farm system… but ‘no pain, no gain’, right?

The Atlanta Braves seem poised to do some spectacular things in 2019, but it will take some considerable effort this Winter to get there.

Alex Anthopoulos could certainly go and spend money on free agents, but his own philosophy (and history) suggests this is not his preferred course of action:  better to do team-building via trades and internal player development instead.

So how does this get accomplished?  By sometimes parting ways with some of the very prospects we’ve been watching and nuturing over the past 3-4 seasons… which is almost like saying goodbye to family members at times.

Yet for the good of all, it may need to be done.  Here are 3 names that the Braves could choose to live without going forward – if it means bringing in superior, proven talent.

KOLBY ALLARD

This is more of a case of finding an ‘odd man out’ rather than anything else, for it should be clear to reasonable scouts that Kolby Allard still has the stuff for the big leagues.

His 2.72 ERA in 19 AAA games should be enough to demonstrate that, but his major league efforts to date would suggest that he needs a bit more seasoning at Gwinnett before being pushed to the majors again.

That, unfortunately, simply leaves him a bit behind others in the Braves pecking order – a problem that other teams would be envious of.

So in suggesting Allard for this list, I’m not knocking the kid at all (heck, he’s barely 21 years old and in AAA with a major league cup of coffee already under his belt) – but I am suggesting that his timing may simply be off a bit for the title-minded Braves, and that puts him in the category of ‘pitchers Atlanta could consider parting with’ given the huge supply available.