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San Diego Padres State Of The Union For 2016

It was a disastrous plan from the beginning, and now the 2014 winter is causing the 2015 offseason to play out different. The NL West has also seen the Giants and Diamondbacks beef up their Rosters while San Diego has lost their top 3 Bullpen arms. This squad will have a tough time avoiding 100 Losses in the 2016 season in my view. The saving grace is they can trade every Veteran player they can and start building up the club for 3 - 4 more years down the road.

It was a disastrous plan from the beginning, and now the 2014 winter is causing the 2015 offseason to play out different. The NL West has also seen the Giants and Diamondbacks beef up their Rosters while San Diego has lost their top 3 Bullpen arms. This squad will have a tough time avoiding 100 Losses in the 2016 season in my view. The saving grace is they can trade every Veteran player they can and start building up the club for 3 – 4 more years down the road.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) 

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It certainly is a different feel to the winter of the Padres in the 2015 offseason than it was the 2014 Season.  I never bought into the premise of how A.J. Preller built the team last year.

It was one of the easiest over/under wagers of the year.  It ended in the club losing more games than they did the previous year – despite running a higher payroll.

The franchise loses Justin Upton to Free Agency, and have traded or lost their top 3 Relievers in Craig Kimbrel, Joaquin Benoit and Shawn Kelley.

Preller has also made a few questionable moves in acquiring Jon Jay for one year – and giving up on Jedd Gyorko.  In my view, this is a weird move.

In an Infield that is already lacking power, this latest move furthers the need to bring in more hitters. Read the rest of this entry

How John Hart Is Quickly Fixing The Braves

The Braves GM has traded the entire OF, shed payroll, and tried to stockpile the Minor Leagues with a boatload of prospects - that should coincide with the opening for the new ballpark in 2017.  The transformation has been swift and just.

The Braves  acting GM John Hart has traded the entire OF, shed payroll, and tried to stockpile the Minor Leagues with a boatload of prospects – that should coincide with the opening for the new ballpark in 2017. The transformation has been swift and just.

By Jordan Gluck (MLB Reports Writer/Part-Owner): 

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How John Hart is quickly fixing the Braves

When you think of the Atlanta Braves you think of three things:

Their dominant pitching once composed of Hall of Fame trio Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
Their former brash manager Bobby Cox.
The face of this franchise since Hank Aaron Chipper Jones.

They were perennially the best team in the NL for about 15 years and they are looking to get back to that especially once their new stadium opens in Cobb County in 2017. Read the rest of this entry

B.J. Upton And Dan Uggla Were The Biggest Reasons Why Wren Was Shown The Door!

The Brothers Upton both were acquired in the 2012 offseason by the Atlanta Braves.  This was a risk for the organization, and while Justin has played extremely well in condensed pockets, Upton is quickly establishing himself as one of the worst contracts ever signed in Major League Baseball.  a .197/.276/.310 3 Slash Line - with 20 HRs and 60 RBI in 902 AB is simply abysmal.  The Braves brass should send him to the Winter Leagues this off-year, to correct his problems.

The Brothers Upton both were acquired in the 2012 offseason by the Atlanta Braves. This was a risk for the organization, and while Justin has played extremely well in condensed pockets, B.J.Upton, now 30,  is quickly establishing himself as one of the worst Free Agent contracts ever signed in Major League Baseball. with a .197/.276/.310 – Braves 3 Slash Line – with 20 HRs and 60 RBI in 902 AB during his 1st 2 years as a Brave is simply abysmal. The club’s brass should send him to the Winter Leagues this off-year, to correct his problems.  Justin Upton, 27, has fared much better in his 2 seasons, with an OPS of .822, 54 HRs and 162 RBI for his 1108 AB. The worst part about this is that the younger brother only has 1 more year left on his deal in 2015, making $14.5 MIL, while B.J. has 3 more years left on his deal, paying him a sum of over $46 MIL for the duration.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): 

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I started writing for this website about a year ago.  One of my first articles I put forth was one centered around the albatross contracts that were B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla.

True to prior blogs written here at the MLB Reports, the older Upton’s Free Agent contract of 5 YRs/$75 MIL will go down as one of the worst deals ever consummated on the open market.

You add the $15 AAV (Average Annual Value) to Uggla’s $11 MIL, and you are forking out over $26 MIL a year – for what are horrific numbers.

The genesis of my theory was simply the team would not recover financially, or be able to cover up any mistakes/injuries that may come to the club.

Atlanta has been one of the best franchises in the MLB for the last 24 years.  Even after the organization claimed 14 straight NL East titles, they only took about 5 years to reload the troops for another wave of success.

Since the end of the 2012 year though, the franchise has seen Chipper Jones retire, longtime Catcher Brian McCann move on to New York, and former Brave great Tim Hudson move out to the San Francisco Giants. Read the rest of this entry

How All Of The Braves Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree – Upton/Uggla Deals Still Looming Doom

Justin Upton

How All Of The Braves Hitters Were Acquired:

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

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The Atlanta Braves are moving into a new ballpark in Cobb County GA in a few years..  Unfortunately the club will still be paying the contract of B.J. Upton.

At least Dan Uggla will be off the books by then.

Atlanta has been an awesome franchise in the last quarter-century, and far from me to admonish these guys on just a few deals doled out, when they have done it right as an organization for 25 years.

The current roster of hitters resembles a ton of Draft Picks by the franchise.  Not only that, but several of the players have inked their names  long term for the Braves.

Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Evan Gattis, Andrelton Simmons  and Tommy La Stella were all selected by the squad in the MLB Amateur Draft over the last several years. Read the rest of this entry

The Atlanta Braves Prospects + Organizational Depth Charts For All Affiliates – 2014 (MLB + MiLB)

The Atlanta Braves went to the World Series  5 times in the 90's, only winning the title in 1995.  The team won 14 Division Titles from 1991 - 2005, and have been very competitive for the last 4 years, after a short dry spell.  A lot of it has to do with their Minor League System.

The Atlanta Braves went to the World Series 5 times in the 90’s, only winning the title in 1995. The team won 14 Division Titles from 1991 – 2005, and have been very competitive for the last 4 years, after a short dry spell from 2006 – 2009.. A lot of it has to do with their Minor League System.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): & Jeff Kleiner (Org Depth Chart + Payroll Expert – find his website here)

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Do you ever wonder how the Atlanta Braves have been so successful as an organization for the last quarter century? The answer is they are able to develop within.

In fact, the only times the club seems to do poorly is when it goes outside its comfort zone, and spend a bushel full of money for Free Agency.

Take the B.J. Upton abysmal deal, that may plague the franchise for spending until they reach their new stadium digs in Cobb County GA.

Yes, they hit a HR in the mid-90’s when they signed Greg Maddux, but times have changed for the economy of baseball.

The club also suffers from the trade to acquire Dan Uggla. These are small blips on a stellar establishment mostly comprised of homegrown talent.

Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Alex Wood, Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons and Evan Gattis are the future of this team. Braves fans are hoping for another World Series Winner.

If you are a fan, get to know these players we list in the post, and follow their progress in the Minors.  if you click their name, it will take you to baseballreference.com’s player page of them.

Read the rest of this entry

Atlanta Braves Organizational Charts: 2013 Team Payroll, Depth Charts + Rosters, (MLB + MiLB)

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Thursday, June.20/2013

The Braves are right up there with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for best run organizations over the last 25 years.  Some would say that Atlanta's brass is the king at organizational bang for the buck from drafting a trading. The team reeled off a professional record 14 straight Division Titles from 1991 - 2004.  They made it to 6 World Series, unfortunately only winning 1 of them.

The Braves are right up there with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for best run organizations over the last 25 years. Some would say that Atlanta’s brass is the king at organizational bang for the buck from drafting a trading. The team reeled off a professional record – 14 straight Division Titles from 1991 – 2005. They made it to 6 World Series, unfortunately only winning 1 of them in 1995.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website  here  

You guys are all in for a treat.  Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website.  He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.  We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams. 

Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.  If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.

In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball.  He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.  So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!

Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis.  After you click on it….Bookmark it.  There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page.  Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!

For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Braves Organization click here

Read the rest of this entry

Brian McCann To Rebound in 2013

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Friday, February. 15/2013

Brian McCann has established himself as one of the best offensive Catchers in the game, but will he be able to hold such a title? An injury to his right shoulder seemed to derail his 2012 campaign, but after having surgery in October he is poised to get back to his old ways.

Brian McCann has established himself as one of the best offensive Catchers in the game, but will he be able to hold such a title? An injury to his right shoulder seemed to derail his 2012 campaign, but after having surgery in October he is poised to get back to his old ways.

By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer):

Brian McCann, Catcher for the Atlanta Braves, has had a great amount of success playing baseball in Georgia his whole life — but could he finally be leaving the Peach State following the 2013 MLB season? McCann was born in Athens Georgia, went to Duluth High School in Duluth Georgia, and currently resides in Lawrenceville Georgia while playing baseball in nearby Atlanta. McCann hasn’t strayed far from his roots to this point in his life. He was drafted out of high school in the 2nd round of the 2002 MLB Draft by his hometown Braves, but his current contract with the team is up after the 2013 season. The Braves just invested a lot of money in the Upton brothers, and may not be so eager to throw a bunch of money at an offensive-minded Catcher whose production at the plate was the worst of his career in 2012. Add in the fact that they have a highly regarded Catching prospect named Christian Bethancourt – who may be ready to contribute to the big club by the start of 2014, or soon thereafter.

There is also Evan Gattis who, while most likely not a threat to steal McCann’s job behind the dish, could be a part of replacing him if need be. So while McCann is coming off surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, and a career worst season at the plate, he needs to show the Braves, or any other potential suitor for that matter, that he is still a major asset to any lineup and will be for years to come.

McCann’s accolades are quite impressive for a soon to be 29 Year old. McCann reached the Majors in 2005 at just 21 Years of Age, and never looked back. He is a 6 time All-Star (2006-2011), and 5 time Silver Slugger (2006, 2008-2011). He is a career .279/.351/.475 hitter who has averaged 22 HRs and 83 RBI per year since his 1st full season in 2006. Prior to last season he had never hit less than .269 and never had an OPS of less than .772. Last season McCann hit .230/.300/.399 giving him an OPS of only .698. He added 20 HRs and 67 RBI, but overall his numbers were not what you would expect from Brian McCann.

2012 Brian McCann Highlights – Mature Lyrics may be present  so Parental Guidance is advised:

Read the rest of this entry

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