Every reasonable GM understands that there are no untradeable prospects. For a controllable star player, everything should be on the table, and Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged that earlier this week. However, there are a group of young studs that are going to be much more difficult to pry away from the Braves than most.
So what makes a prospect untradeable?
There are a couple of factors that go into it. Talent, obviously, but positional wealth also comes into the picture, as in how many players do the Braves have at a certain position. So, taking both of these aspects into account, let’s evaluate who will be the five most gut-wrenching prospects to part ways with.
1. Cristian Pache
This is not just a list of the Braves top prospects in order, but Cristian Pache would be the most difficult to let go of. There aren’t many players like Ronald Acuña — that are just sure things before they even make it to the majors — but Pache is close to that. He’s already regarded as one of the best defensive players in baseball, and he’s played in one major league game. However, that’s just a fraction of where the excitement comes from. Pache has grown into his 6’2″ frame, and with that has come a ton more power. There’s a belief that he could become an Andruw Jones-like talent for Atlanta.
2. Ian Anderson
Anderson might be the 3rd rated prospect in the Braves system, behind Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, but he has a case to be #1 on this list of untradeable prospects… because the Braves starting rotation is in shambles.
It’s been extremely disappointing how many of Atlanta’s young arms have performed in 2020. However, at least the two that have popped happen to look like aces — Mike Soroka and Max Fried. Still, with Soroka on the shelf for the rest of the season, it has given the Braves a refreshing look at how the future of their rotation looks, and it isn’t promising. Atlanta needs starting pitching, and Anderson looks like the perfect candidate to follow in the footsteps of Soroka and Fried. However, you can’t blame Alex Anthopoulos for losing faith in his young pitchers after what he’s seen this season, which could result in him being more willing to trade a highly-touted prospect like Anderson.
3. William Contreras
A few years ago, the Braves had little to no depth at catcher in the minors. That’s not the case anymore. Atlanta drafted Shea Langeliers with the ninth overall pick in 2019, and William Contreras has continued to improve each season, which was on full display during his MLB debut in 2020. Normally, that might suggest one of them is moveable, but with catcher being such a difficult position to address, the Braves have to enjoy where they are at right now. There’s no reason for them to move Contreras unless it is in a blockbuster deal.
4. Shea Langeliers
Having Alex Jackson, along with Contreras and Langeliers does make one of them a bit more expendable, but in an ideal world, the Braves would hang onto the latter two. There’s no guarantee that any of these catching prospects pan out, but as long as they have three legitimate options, the position appears to be in fantastic shape.
5. Drew Waters
Drew Waters may be the second-ranked prospect in the Braves system, but because of Acuña and Pache, he is a little more expendable than he would be otherwise. If Alex Anthopoulos is going to pull off a blockbuster deal at this year’s trade deadline, Waters might be the most valuable trade chip he is willing to part ways with. The 21-year-old is coming off an unbelievable season, winning the MVP of the Southern League, so his value could not be higher in a potential deal. However, the only way Waters is traded is if the Braves receive a major league proven asset that is controllable for several years.
You must log in to post a comment.