More Pitching Moves for the Braves
By Wayne Cavadi
John Hart is at it again. The new Atlanta Braves GM continues to rebuild the team in his own way, shipping off old pieces and prospects of the Frank Wren regime. Baseball America reports that the Braves have sent Kyle Kubitza and Nate Hyatt to the Angels for Ricardo Sanchez.
Kyle Kubitza, a left-handed hitting third baseman drafted in the third round of the 2011 draft, was the Braves 10th-ranked prospect. He was coming off a solid season in which he slashed .295/.405/.470 at Double-A Mississippi. He earned one Player of the Week Award and was a 2014 MiLB.com Organizational All Star.
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Nate Hyatt is a right-handed reliever drafted by the Braves in 13th round of the 2012 draft. He had a spectacular season out of the pen for High-A Lynchburg. Hyatt went 5-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 63 innings while striking out 73. He’ll probably begin the season in Double-A Arkansas for the Angels.
Ricardo Sanchez is, at just 17 years of age, Baseball America’s No. 2 prospect in the Angels system. Signed out of Venezuela this past season the young lefty struggled a bit, but was rather impressive for his age. He finished 2-2 for the Angels Arizona Rookie level squad posting a 3.49 ERA while striking out 43 batters over 38.2 innings. Clearly Sanchez is a long ways off from breaking the Braves rotation, but Hart sees a lot of promise in the youngsters cannon.
Hart has made some moves this offseason in regards to pitching that has left many people scratching their heads. He has brought on four pitching prospects that have had a history of arm injuries, most recently with Max Fried and Manny Banuelos. This time he gave up a proven Top 10 prospect at a position of need for the Braves for a pitcher who is seemingly years away from making an impact. Hart obviously has his eye on pitching. Braves fans are hoping he’s cashing in on the right arms as the rebuilding process continues.