Atlanta Braves continue building for future with Shelby Miller trade haul
It’s no surprise that the Atlanta Braves were able to move Shelby Miller, but what is surprising is what the Arizona Diamondbacks were willing to give up for the 25-year-old starting pitcher who has three years of control left before becoming a free agent.
The Braves received the Diamondbacks number one prospect, Dansby Swanson, whom they just took with the first pick in the 2015 draft. They also gave up another former first-round compensation pick in starting pitcher Aaron Blair. These two were ranked as the first and third best prospects respectively in the team’s farm system.
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As if that wasn’t enough, the Braves also received 25-year-old outfielder Ender Inciarte in the deal as well. Inciarte is under club control for five more years and will make the league minimum in 2016. He can play center field, which also helps the Braves take care of one of their offseason needs. Bringing on Inciarte will allow Mallex Smith to develop more in the minor leagues before he takes over the center field position.
Swanson was taken first overall in the 2015 draft after two great years at the University of Vanderbilt. He helped his team win the College World Series his sophomore year and make it back to the finals his junior year, where they lost to Virginia. He hit .333 as a sophomore and .335 as a junior playing in the best conference in college baseball. He improved his stock his junior year by showing his power potential, hitting 15 home runs. He also proved that he has the range and arm strength to stick at shortstop in the big leagues.
After being drafted in June, Swanson was sent to the Diamondbacks Low-A affiliate where he hit .289 in 83 at bats with a .394 on-base percentage. It’s possible that he starts the 2016 season in Double-A for the Braves with the possibility of being major league ready for the 2017 season.
The Braves already have a top prospect in their system who plays shortstop in Ozhaino Albies, but either Albies or Swanson could easily transition over to second base giving the Braves a pretty solid middle infield combination.
The other piece in the deal involved the Braves getting 23-year-old starting pitcher Aaron Blair. He was taken 36th overall in the 2013 draft out of Marshall University by the Diamondbacks. He had moved through their farm system pretty fast finishing the 2015 season with their Triple-A affiliate where he posted an ERA of 3.62 in 12 starts (13 appearances) with 56 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched. Between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 Blair had an ERA of 2.92 over 160.1 innings with 120 strikeouts.
Blair projects to be a solid, middle of the rotation pitcher who can pile up a lot of innings. There doesn’t seem to be much upside with Blair, but it’s nice to have the consistency of this type of pitcher in your rotation. It’s possible Blair starts the 2016 season in the Braves rotation, but if not he won’t be far behind.
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The Braves got a tremendous haul of players in this deal that should help them turn this organization back around fairly quickly. They got two players who are big league ready and another that might only be a year behind. All of whom are under club control for at least five more seasons. The Braves said they had to be blown away to trade Miller, and the Diamondbacks succeeded in that regard.