7. Braves Young Arms: Mike Minor/Kris Medlen/Brandon Beachy/Alex Wood
Mar 9, 2014; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher
Kris Medlen(54) throws against the New York Mets in spring training action at Tradition Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves once again find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. After again missing the playoffs, it has become apparent that they are not as close to contention as they seemed to be after the acquiring the Upton brothers. Now they risk losing one of their biggest young superstars in Jason Heyward because they gambled and missed, badly, on B.J. Upton. With the potential loss of Heyward looming large, they may seek to acquire another outfielder in the near future who will be capable of generating offense in the top half of their lineup.
The Braves may have to deal from their surplus of young quality arms if they want to bolster their offense. People forget how much good pitching the Braves actually have; this past season they were actually heavily interested in acquiring more, the reason being that most of their pitching talent has a way of ending up on the DL. Both Alex Wood and Mike Minor missed substantial time this season, and trended in different directions in their time on the field. Minor (26), who looked phenomenal next to his 3.21 ERA in 2013, struggled mightily this season and saw that number climb to 4.77. Wood (23) on the other hand, impressed for the second straight year with a dominant 2.78 ERA.
Beachy (28) has spent quite a bit of his four Major League seasons battling the injury bug, but compiled 3.3 WAR in limited time his first two seasons, and looked incredible in his shortened 2012 season. Rounding out the foursome is Kris Medlen (pictured), who also excelled in a two-year span before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. After taking the baseball world by storm in 2012, he leveled out while maintaining excellence, posting a 3.11 ERA. Any of these starters would make an incredible addition… but may involve giving up Cespedes or Betts.