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Old_chief

2:57

Do any of the Braves under performing pitching prospects have significant value this winter

Steve Adams

2:59

Sure -- maybe not as high as it was pre-debut, especially for a guy like Kyle Wright who has had chances in three straight seasons, but young pitching is always going to be among the most coveted assets in baseball. Lots of teams would love to get their hands on Wright, Toussaint, Wilson, Weigl, etc.

3:03

At the same time I think that group's collective struggles are an important reminder of the general crapshoot that is trying to develop prospects -- pitching prospects in particular. The Braves' system was the envy of MLB for years, and while Acuna/Albies are stars, at this point they've also seen two of their deep array of pitchers (Fried + Soroka) pan out as concrete MLB starters.

Others might follow suit, but I tend to shake my head at the notion that any prospect is untouchable (with rare exceptions). From Wright to Riley to Touki to countless others, I've seen Braves fans recoil at the notion of trading prospects for viable big leaguers.

It's absolutely not unique to Braves fans, but it's still remarkable to me that many fans value the allure of prospect rankings over someone who is legitimately producing right now -- especially if said player isn't a rental.

3:05

Minor soap box moment, ha. Just always eye-opening to me to see someone scoff at the idea of including Drew Waters in a Lance Lynn trade or something. Sure, Waters might be a very good corner OF one day. He might also, two years from now, have done roughly what Austin Riley has done to this point, which isn't much. To each their own, but a lot of baseball fans seem to take above-average big league regulars for granted once they're into their arbitration years and not earning relative pennies.

Mr Roctober

3:05

Of the LHP free agent starters this offseason, how do you rate Quintana (injuries/hasn't played this year), Paxton (scary flexor strain/velocity down), and Robbie Ray (subpar performance)? Any others to consider?

Steve Adams

3:06

Brett Anderson, Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Rich Hill, J.A. Happ, Drew Smyly, Alex Wood will all be out there.

out there as well*

3:10

I think Quintana has been generally underrated since being traded for Eloy. Again, people look at that as a heist, but Quintana is a rock solid mid-rotation arm. Sure you'd rather have Jimenez and Cease now, by a mile, but we've seen trades in that mold go the other way as well.

Quintana is probably the most appealing to me, depending on how the thumb looks, and I'd take Ray's youth/lack of physical red flag over Paxton. I'm permanently in the "Drew Smyly should be good, dammit" camp, so getting him on what'll have to be a minor league deal would be a nice little pickup, too.

Ditto Alex Wood, for that matter.

Old_chief

3:11

Will the Astros go full rebuild this offseason? So many leaving and losing draft picks will make it hard to contend.

Steve Adams

3:14

I kind of doubt it, but they're in a pretty bad long-term spot. Poor farm system. Verlander+Greinke leaving after 2021. Springer, Brantley free agents this winter.

The Framber Valdez breakout has breathed some new life into the rotation outlook, but I still think they should at least be open to moving short-term vets. I don't think they can move Verlander -- hurt all year, no-trade clause -- but they could shop their last season of Greinke in a winter that's largely devoid of anything resembling an ace in free agency.

3:15

Ok, I have to wrap this up for the week. Connor will host next week's Front Office chat, and since my mini staycation is over, I'll be back for my regularly scheduled Tuesday chat next week as well.

Look for another subscriber piece from me in your inbox this weekend as well -- that, too, was pushed back by my time off.

3:16

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

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