The Braves have struck a deal to acquire outfield prospect Alex Jackson from the Mariners, per club announcements. Righties Rob Whalen and Max Povse are headed to Seattle in the deal, in which Atlanta will also pick up a player to be named later. The Mariners designated righty Ryan Weber to create 40-man roster space.
Jackson, the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, is still just twenty years old and has only played two professional seasons. But GM Jerry Dipoto — who wasn’t at the helm in Seattle when Jackson was selected — evidently didn’t see enough evidence of his future potential.
Despite a tough 2015 debut year, Jackson received some top-100 leaguewide billing entering the 2016 campaign. He did show some improvement at the Class A level, but ended with a relatively meager .243/.332/.408 batting line and 11 home runs over 381 plate appearances. Jackson also went down on strikeouts 103 times while drawing 34 walks.
[RELATED: Updated Braves & Mariners Depth Charts]
Whalen, 22, received his first five major league starts last year, allowing a 18 earned runs and a dozen walks but also limiting opposing batters to twenty base hits while compiling a healthy 25 strikeouts. He was much better in his first attempt at the upper minors, too. Across 120 total frames split between Double-A and Triple-A, Whalen compiled a 2.40 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The righty originally came to Atlanta from the Mets along with John Gant in the 2015 deadline deal for Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe.
Though Whalen figures to play a role in Seattle’s pitching depth, Povse may be the real get here for the M’s. The 23-year-old is a consistent strike thrower despite his 6’8 frame. Working last year at the High-A and Double-A levels, he ran up 158 innings of 3.36 ERA pitching with 7.9 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 — though his strikeout numbers drooped following his promotion.
In adding two players to their roster, the Mariners had to clear a spot. That will mean exposing the 26-year-old Weber to waivers. Actually, Weber landed in Seattle from Atlanta earlier this month through a waiver claim after providing 64 2/3 innings to the Braves over the last two seasons. Though he’s also a low-walk hurler, having averaged just 1.5 free passes per nine in the majors, he has managed only a 5.15 ERA in the bigs while logging 5.8 K/9. Weber has posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in the upper minors in each of the past two seasons, while working mostly in a relief capacity.
Don’t know why Seattle would sell so low on such a high potential talent. They gave up on him after just a few years out of high school…
Povse and Whalen are much more projectable in MLB, if only as a 4-5 SP and relief arm, respectively. Jackson is still a powerball ticket.
I think with the addition of Kyle Lewis last year it made Jackson a trade piece. It is not a surprise to see him go. It is also not a surprise to see pitchers coming back in return. I am just a bit surprised they didn’t use enough players that got back an MLB ready pitcher. They still need one more pitcher and a LH BP arm.
It’s the Mariner way: always think you’re “window is open” when it’s not. Our system is absolutely barren of young talent….dude is barely two years out of high school and you give up on him? What a joke…
Who says they have up in him? Kyle Lewis has more upside and is going to be ready faster. I didn’t want to get rid of him but if they got a couple of good arms for him great. I also wouldn’t say we are ” barren of young talent”. Bavasi stripped it to nothing Z built it up a bit there are some good pieces there. Granted it is not the top minor system but not bad.
I do find some if Dipoto’s moves odd when he trades a player then comes out and says we need to fill the position we just traded from. We need to wait and see if he is upgrading or not. Is losing Segura and the new SP going to be better than Walker and Marte? We will have to see. I am not sure. I do see with the OF prospects we have how Jackson was trade bait though. Lewis O’Neill and the guys we just got in trade. Can’t play them all now or in a few years.
Gotta say I disagree here for two reasons:
1) Jackson isn’t the type of player DiPoto covets. He doesn’t get on base and strikes out a ton. The opportunity to get two young, controllable, projectable arms for a high-risk bat seems like a no-brainer.
2) Jackson had developed a reputation as a guy who was uncoachable and not a hard worker. Good riddance.
I’ve read about his reputation as uncoachable as well and yeah, I cannot stand players like that either. I’ve just been super frustrated for years now, I’ve been wanting a total rebuild and that just doesn’t happen. They always think they can compete when in reality they aren’t as close as they think they are. I wasn’t a fan of the DiPoto hire since he’s not the kind of GM To rebuild and I can totally see him unloading Kyle Lewis or Tyler O’Neil cause he thinks they have a shot at the WS. I’ve just really grown to hate the Mariners organization over the past decade so yeah, unless they finally do what’s right and rebuild, probably not gonna be too many positive comments outta me!
Then stop commenting on the Mariners things and become a fan of another team like the Braves so you can root for your favorite player Alex Jackson that you probally had no idea who he was and what his stats were like until this point.
Awwww poor little baby got hurt from a negative comment about the Mariners. Hush honey, shhhh, shhhh, it’s ok…..shhhhh….
Cause ya know, their track record of great moves is staggering…
Ok, now you can make fun of me for being clueless on how to post stuff….lighten up dude, if you can’t take negative criticism on the Mariners, tough. Not everyone agrees with these moves. Some of us want a total rebuild like they should’ve done years ago
I can think of some great moves they’ve made actually, let’s start with signing Ichiro, King Felix, Brett Boone and Nelson Cruz, or drafting Griffey Jr, A Rod, Martinez, Seager or trading for Buhner or Johnson. Those are only a few great moves they have made.
“How could you trade Jay Buhner?!!!! He hit 40 homeruns last year! He’s got a rocket of an arm! You don’t know what you’re doing!!!!!!”
“My people said ‘Ken Phelps! Ken Phelps’!!”
More mistakes, didn’t we cough up Adam Jones a while back cabrera to the Indians, are we going to win with what we have or is Dipito saying what I thought last year, our minor league teams are depleted of home run hitting talent, no power pitchers and the only way you are going to get that type of depth in the minor leagues, would be stink up the joint and get a top 10 draft pick for 10 straight years.
I looked at this team a few years back when I went to the redsox game and we looked real thin at starting rotation and thin in the bullpen area and definetly needed another 2 or 3 guys who can hit the ball out of the ball park 40 times or more a year and I am talking about young players, like what we had in 95,
Where everyone thought that, that Seattle team could make it to the world series. Not signing 35 year old guys who can’t do that for another 10 years like Cruz,
Is he going to be playing at age 45?
I mean what are the chances this day and age with the way everything is in pro baseball that the Mariners are going to land 2 or 3 baseball players that are 23 or younger, through a trade, that could shortly hit 40 or more homeruns in the majors.
It’s not going to happen.
Robinson Cano who is a hall of fame players is basically supporting that team that is practically a whole in the bucket, this team next year is going to be just like this years team. They almost made it!
I like it
I’m happy with that deal, too. Braves add a top pick bat who was the Mariners #1 prospect to end 2016 according to BaseballHQ. He has potential to be a middle of the order bat, with decent BA potential to go with big time power. He has work to do on cutting down strikeouts. Hopefully the change in scenery gets him back to high A this spring. Fair price to pay for the gamble here.
He’s their 5th to start 2016 and is a 45+ fv prospect. Please stop trying to drum up his status.
Why are you so down on Jackson unless you’re trying to be the great equalizer to Braves fans hyping him up? Sure, he’s got a lot of rough edges, at 20 (!!!), but take a look at high school positional players in the 2014 1st rd MLB Draft (including compensatory rd) and tell me who doesn’t have a ways to go. I’m not even sure any of made a pro debut.
Look at this as his college years, he’d be a sophomore going into his junior season. Did ATL overpay? Possibly, but we’ve got the depth to be able to do that – to some extent. Plus, Coppy doesn’t want to win every trade – or no GM would answer his calls.
So he “lost” this trade so other GM’s wouldn’t be scared and still answer his calls? You have got to be kidding me.
Hyperbole is your friend.
Because acting like some player who is bad suddenly became awesome because he went to your team is V annoying. If you wanna sit around and circle jerk to every braves move and bow to “coppy” go to a braves forum. If you post on one that is comprised of fans of other teams, expect them to call out your bs.
Also why does it matter where his draft peers are? If everyone is bad, that doesn’t make him any better. He is a 20 year old who is still striking out in 27% of his at bats and has a horrible hit tool. Period. The end. No matter what random arguments you want to try to bring up, nothing changes that.
Pay Chester no mind. He’s widely regarded, among MLBTR’s community, as a bridge-dwelling, goat-eating fellow. He’s already been nominated for playa hater of the year.
Chester nonsense aside, there is a lot to like about this trade, but fans should still temper their expectations. Yes, Jackson still has immense potential; you don’t get drafted 6th overall in anything without having standout abilities. With that being said, all he has as of right now is potential. He hasn’t done much to show that he’s capable of reaching that potential, but he is young. Clearly the Braves front office and scouts still see something in the unproven youngster, otherwise they wouldn’t have traded two promising young pitchers to acquire him. Maybe a change of scenery is needed? Maybe the Braves feel like they have the solution for his shortcomings? Regardless, there is plenty of risk but also the potential for a great reward. My only qualm is that they may given up a bit too much for such an unproven commodity. If Jackson reaches his potential, or at least becomes a quality MLB contributer, then the Braves will be alright. If he turns out to be a career minor leaguer, and Povse or Whalen become quality MLB pitchers, then the Braves will eventually regret the trade; as is the case with any trade involving prospects though. The Braves traded from a position of depth and are betting on their scouting and development departments; likewise the Mariners traded from a position of depth are betting on their scouting and development departments. As with anything in life, only time will tell.
Povse is 6’8″.
Dipoto didn’t draft him and they need pitching. I think it’s a steal for the braves though he has some real hitting potential.
Braves give up two decent SP for a guy who has shown absolutely nothing, but was a high draft pick 2 years ago.
Mariners trade upside for depth
Braves trade depth for the slight chance Jackson turns into something
Trading from a source of a strength to create depth where they’re shallow. Braves FO loves high-ceiling guys, if their scouts sign off on him – and I’m assuming they see something (i.e. Travis Demeritte).
Don’t really see how a 20 year old .243 hitting outfielder in class A creates depth because those must be hard to come by but I also remember Jackson being extremely hyped in his draft year but Seattle is clearly not high on him at all.
You must have a hard time figuring out the meaning of depth. When folks are still looking at former 1st rd pick, Braxton Davidson, as a future OF, you don’t got much. This could also be Braves FO taking advantage of a new regime – Dipito did not draft Jackson. Braves love adding former 1st rd talent (Touki Touissaint, Travis Demeritte, Aaron Blair, Tyrell Jenkins, Max Fried) for their upside.
If all you can see is his .243 average last year then I wouldn’t expect it to make sense to you.
what are you seeing? He struck out 27% of the time in A ball
I’m seeing a guy with a quick swing, who is young, and just 2 years ago was thought of as the best hitter in the draft. Either a. he could be a bust or b. he could just need the right coach in his ear to further his development. Of course this isn’t a sure thing, it is a trade of prospects.. almost a trade of lottery tickets.. but I like the odds on our ticket. Many players struggle when they first make it to the pros and his 2 years have been shortened by shoulder injuries.
He hasn’t progressed at all though. 2 years in the minors you would hope to see some progress. Especially such a high draft pick.
3 years ago Mark Appel was 1/1. Do you still like him too? The idea that he was previously thought of as a good hitter can only get him so far. I know there are examples of guys who turn it around, but the % that do that are very small.
Unless/until he can show any sort of ability to make contact, i’m not sure how you can see him as much more than a failed player.
@ucalex
That is because the depth is what the Mariners traded for. The upside high ceiling player is Jackson. Jackson is not depth. If he was hitting well he would not have been traded but at 20 the Braves are taking a shot that he figures it out.
It all comes down to tools. Some players have them. Whether he learns how to use his God given talent will determine the outcome, but obviously, having been rated and drafted high, those tools exist. At 20 yrs of age there is still time to develop them and this trade may be a wake up call for the young man.
i believe dimtri young is still looking for an mlb job too…
Nobody is a failed player at 20. If he’s still failing to make contact at A ball when he’s 24, we’ll talk.
Whalen wasn’t a great prospect. He was a decent bullpen guy but wasn’t ever going to be anything special. Povse has the potential to be a front-end starter but he is still 2 years away which, by that time, others who are far ahead of him in terms of ability, will be knocking on the door.
Jackson is, as DMC said, depth for a position that the Braves are lacking in the minors. He represents a power bat in the OF if they can teach him to SO less.
Good analogy by Britton
Braves FO is just showing they value high ceilings over high floors. A little too much risk involved for my tastes, but hey if it only costs 2nd tier prospects then the damage is minimal. Hate to lose Povse though, I had him pegged as possibly breaking into the majors next season.
The righty version of Randy Johnson just got to Seattle. I’m not sure about that but does anyone know what the two pitchers stuff is like? Honestly I diddnt really think Jackson would turn into anything great but I thought we at least could have got something better, but that’s why I want to know what we got in the pitchers.
His size and plus-fastball makes him high-ceiling, but while his walks are low, his strikeout totals have never been where they should be. That could point to a lack of development of his off-speed stuff. If he can develop that, he could be more than a mid-rotation starter not unlike Chris Young, another tall drink of water with sporadic stuff.
Never trade for a Braves pitcher.
Like Adam Wainwright, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, etc.
If ya need to go back a decade to find a good example of a Braves pitcher who got traded, the previous statement has merit
Guess everyone forgot they traded Craig Kimbrel a while ago
fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=6655&posit…
has been worse each year since leaving.
It’s partly because the Braves kept most of their great pitchers since 1991.
I’m going to wait until the PTBNL is announced before I give judgement. Alex Jackson has always struck me as being high on tools, but poor on execution. He has had poor walk rates, high strikeout totals and poor averages. He is however still young at 20 years old. For now I see this as trading some pitching prospects depth for a position player prospect who hasn’t ‘gotten it’ yet.
This strikes me as Travis Demeritte 2.0 — a former first-round pick traded for his potential from our pitching strength. Demeritte did show more than Alex Jackson in the minors, but Jackson still has a lot of time and they must like his raw tools.
One of the biggest differences with that comparison though Run is that Demeritte had actually produced good walk rates and extra base power (along with excellent defense). Jackson definitely hasn’t produced high OBP’s like Demeritte has (along with Demeritte having about 100 extra OPS). I am NOT saying that Jackson might not develop into something more than he is now, I’m just saying that he hasn’t lived up to his ‘talent’ as of yet.
As far as the many making comments along the lines that the braves lack position player prospects then they are missing out on guys like Dustin Peterson, Ronald Acuna (who many say will be a top 100 prospect when the new lists come out), Christian Pache, and maybe Braxton Davidson are outfielders that could be in the Braves top 30 when the new lists come out. Then you have other position players like Demeritte, Austin Riley, Maitan, Swanson, Albies, Rio Ruiz, Derian Cruz, Joey Meneses, Jonathan Morales, Dylan Moore and others who COULD be in the top 30 as well (several of that group will definitely be included).
With that said of course the Braves organization is known for their pitching depth, and I’m guessing that someone in the front office really liked Jackson. I can understand the deal, but I want to refrain from too much judgement yet until the PTBNL is revealed.
When do the new prospect lists come out?
cmancoley when the new prospect lists come out depend on which list you are looking for specifically. In my book, the top 3 lists would be fangraphs, MLB prospects, and Baseball America. Both fangraphs and BA have already started their new lists on a per team basis (but both are FAR from finished as only a few teams have been released and on BA you need to be a subscriber). The MLB prospects lists on the official MLB site though don’t normally get updated until sometime around/during spring training usually. (they will update the teams lists during trades…but it is more of laterally moving prospects from one organization to another instead of a total ‘new’ list)
I do recall (from reading multiple chats on their websites) that both BA and fangraphs writers think it is highly likely when the top 100 overall lists are put out for them that Ronald Acuna will be listed in it…which is why I included his name.as being mentioned for the ‘new’ lists). One writer went so far to say, when asked if Acuna was a top 100 prospect to answer “Oh yeah!!!!”.
BA will start now but won’t finish until March for individual teams. Most lists tend to wait for the new year right before spring training so most of the trades are out of the way
Love that you mentioned Acuna. Had a chance to watch him play before his injury last season, he’s going to be a real high end player in the majors in the upcoming future.
I don’t really see many similarities… Jackson has done basically nothing in his career to show he could potentially be any sort of major league player. The only thing he has going for him right now is that he was a high first round pick a couple years ago. Demeritte had a .900+ OPS when he was traded to the Braves. He was at least showing his tools instead of coasting off his draft hype.
Seems like a good trade for both teams. I’m a Braves fan and having seen Povse pitch I do hate to see him go as he had a lot of potential, especially with this tall frame. Whalen was always a bullpen pitcher to me. I am not saying that to knock him by any means just that he was just that, a reliever. With all the pitching prospects we have that are at the AA/AAA level who are ready to come up he won’t be missed too terribly.
Alex Jackson has a lot of potential with his power, which is something that the Braves system lacks overall. He WAS the Mariner’s #1 Prospect so whereas it seems a slight overpay to acquire him, that is almost to be expected. Overall not really a bad trade. It’s potential for potential.
Well Seattle just got Haniger from the Diamondbacks, so they don’t really need Jackson
He’s 20 far far away so not really no relation to Haniger.
Between Haniger, Lewis, Gamel, and O’Neill not sure where Jackson would have ever had a spot in Seattle, plus Jackson reminds me of Jeff Clement and Dustin Ackley, M’s picked some bad players in the 1st round during Bavasi and JackZ, O’Neill outperformed Jackson in every way and will be in the Majors in 2018, in 2020 it’ll be Lewis, O’Neill, and Haniger as Seattles starting outfield, Jackson never had a spot even if he didn’t strikeout 100+ times in A ball. Jackson may find a home as a .230 hitting catcher if the Braves move him to that position, that’s probably his best bet, as for Seattle, if there’s one thing every baseball team knows it’s that you cannot have too much pitching, pitchers get injured and/or ineffective all too often, even if you’re 10-12 deep at pitcher you still don’t have enough, good move by Dipoto.
I don’t think the argument saying Jackson didn’t have a spot matters. They are all young, and you never know how they will pan out. I don’t like this move. They gave up on a 20 year old prospect with a lot of upside. OF has been our toughest spot recently to find a regular, so why not keep depth in that area?
With all these depth moves Dipoto is making it’s going to be a really fun spring training to watch, there’s going to be a lot more competition than usual.
Dipoto works in mysterious ways…
Damn I really liked povse
I did too. Saw him pitch in AA last year. Has potential and I’ll hate to see him go, but with the sheer amount of pitching we have, his spot is easily filled.
Stupid trade on the braves part. Povse is going to be solid.
Or he could flop, same as Jackson.
Hmmm wonder who the other guy is the Braves will get? Not sure about giving up on Povse..
John Hart has some pretty strong words for Alex. Wonder if they are going to move him back to catcher?
youtu.be/8oBbcfNveks
good find!
thx
Why would the brewers DFA Chris carter
As I love to say “We Trust In Coppy”, I think this is a good trade for Braves. Neither of those guys would’ve been in the Braves rotation in the next 3-4 years (too much depth/talent). Braves could have struck real bargain by acquiring Alex Jackson, capable Defender, and a possible premier hitter. I could see anywhere
I could see Jackson become this kind of player
.280-.310 AVG
20-30 HR
20-35 SB
you are delusional
Far too early for me to even try to guess what he will look like. He has to cut down on the strikeouts if he is ever going to hit above .243..I like the potential though.
Sorry JDSchneck, as much as I would love to say “trust in Coppy” I absolutely don’t see Jackson becoming anywhere near that type of player.
At BEST I could see him becoming a .260-.270 hitter with 25 to 30 dingers but maybe 5 steals at the most. Jackson isn’t thought of as even an average runner nor do most people consider him even an average defender. He does however have an above average arm.
Like I said that is at BEST. He most likely will not develop into anything approaching that.
It’s really hard to rack up sb when you are a 45 runner with a 330 obp
If you want to know what Jackson will become look at Dustin Ackley, they are very similar in the way they were drafted by JackZ, solid looking players that everyone thought couldn’t miss but allergic to the wood bat and a well placed fastball or anything off speed, beware in trading for any JackZ first round pick, they have a poor track rate…
Think the Braves made an excellent move by buying low on Jackson. The kid was considered to be one of the best if not the best hitter in 2014 as a HS kid.
His bat speed and big time strength probably shoots him to being the best power hitter in the minors for the Braves.
Another plus is being a catcher. Easily our best catching prospect at this juncture despite his offensive struggles.
Hate Povse had to go, but Jackson is a much bigger talent to develop, and Povse is behind a lot of guys.
Whalen is just Whalen. Nothing impressive outside of being a relief pitcher, and there’s guys ahead of him with better stuff.
How many games has alex jackson caught since being drafted?
my guess is 0. haha
Good move and means Weiters goes some where else. Could plantoon with Flowers.
It amazes me at how many people make these type comments without even researching the guy in question or at least reading the article. Jackson has played outfield as a professional….NOT catcher. He also just completed a season in low A ball. In no way is he going to be a platoon player with Flowers (especially since neither one hits left handed either lol). IF a lot of things go right Jackson might make the major at the end of 2018 IF (and only IF) he does great in 2017 and great in 2018. I just don’t see it as likely even then.
didn’t he finish in A ball not low A?
Baseball America’s story on the trade calls Clinton–who he played with this year–“low Class A”.. See here:baseballamerica.com/majors/mariners-move-alex-jack…
There are two full-season Single A leagues: A and A+. Some people call the former low A, while other people call the short season Single A- as low A.
The point is, however, that Jackson hasn’t played above the lowest full-season league in professional ball yet. It’s going to be a while before he makes the majors.
Good for Alan Jackson. Very impressive. 1st a successful country music career, now this. What’s next, driving professionally for Kia’s off-road team with my bros and I? Great story for this Cowboy hat, mustache loving, middle aged man.
This deal makes sense for both teams. Seattle has higher upside OFs in Lewis O’Neil and added Haniger and have bishop Hernandez. They had a surplus of OFs. They needed some pitching and got just that.
The braves don’t really have OF talent but have amassed such pitching depth. So they took a chance on Jackson.
Personally I think the Mariners got the better end of the deal atm. Jackson had such alarming k rates. 27%, 28.9%, 25.5%. And he has a decent BABIP to go along with that battling line.
Braves now own 3 first round picks from the 2014 draft that was shown to be loaded with talent. Braves buying low as Mariners build depth for a competing team. Braves have 5 pitching prospects who currently are not even scheduled to start the season with the big league club. Expect Jackson to be given the time to develop and see playing time in 2018 as the Braves right fielder.
The dude just struck out in 27% of his at bats, in single A. I don’t understand how you can say they will give him time to develop and then predict him being in MLB by 2018. You think he’s going to jump from A to MLB, with his numbers, by 2018? You must be expecting some huge break out
Jackson could right the ship during the 2017 season to go from A to AA, then play fall league or winter ball. Hit spring trainin 2018, get some quality AB’s, some wisdom from the Joneses go to AA/Gwinnett and get called up during the season. It would be Nick’s last year and the Braves could trade him before the deadline.
Probably much more likely that Dustin Peterson (who is very likely to be in Atlanta at some point in 2017) or even Ronald Acuna or someone else we aren’t thinking about yet is there before Alex Jackson.
With that said I’d love it if Jackson took big steps up in develop since he is now in the Braves organization.
so yes, you are expecting a big break out.
Someone in the front office has a big crystal ball and has loved this kid for a few years to give up that much pitching. It is a lot harder to project young hitters than it is to project young pitchers. K% and BB% are two factors that need payed attention to as a player progresses through the minor league ranks. 20 years of age is very young for Class A. Definitely a “tools” and “projection” trade at this time. High risks for High Rewards
To me, A right handed power bat is the rarest commodity in the game because it is usually either already locked up, will cost a ton to lock up, or teams simply do not want to trade it away if they have it because it is hard to find it to balance your lineup. So if you can take a flier out on a guy who does have good bat speed and good power. Who comes in at 20 years old, and maybe gets some new hands working with him on his deficiencies. I think it is wise to take a gamble on such a player especially one who was thought so highly of 2 1/2 years ago to be taken 6th overall.
This is another reason why some of the smaller trades that some people think are meaningless do turn out to make an unexpected impact later on. Rob Whalen acquired in Kelly Johnson trade Part I to the Mets winds up going to The Mariners in this trade.
I think this is a testament to The Braves minor league system working well with both Povse and Whalen. I think you could do a flashback to this time in 2015 and Dipoto probably would have laughed at the offer, but that is baseball and a testament to how quickly fortunes change. There are things to like about Povse and Whalen, but I personally like Whalen a lot. He has a bulldog mentality that reminds me a lot of Kris Medlen. Not saying he will be that good, but he has the right mindset when he takes the mound. Povse displayed excellent control, but in AA his K’s dipped 9.4 Ks in high A ball to 6.1 in AA. Not sure if that is an ill omen or just an adjustment, but he has a good wiry frame to work with though his secondary pitches need to be worked on.
With the breadth of pitching options we have. It is nice to see another possible power bat added with Demirette and Austin Riley. Speaking of Riley, who is coming off of a 271./20HR/80RBI season. MLB dot com just ranked Alex Jackson 13th and Austin Riley 14th in the wake of this trade. If this is anywhere close to being remotely true by their estimates. I would gladly trade what we did for another possibly Austin Riley.
I will admit that I think Rob Whalen will over the course of time be a MUCH better pitcher than many expect.
With Whalen I see more of a comparison to a poor man’s Kris Medlen, though like I said I am not sure he reaches the plateau that Medlen did when he was healthy and dealing. He does at least decently with 4 pitches, and has the right mentality. I think that gives him just as good of a shot as any to make it in the bigs.
With Povse, he looks to be more in the line of a Doug Fister type if he reaches his full potential. He’s got the control, but the secondary offerings need to come along more. He was considered to be slotted at AAA Gwinnett before the trade and possibly in the bigs for The Braves by the end of 2017.
I wish both Whalen and Povse well, but we had to add to something we have a bit of a shortage on which is Right Handed Power Bats. Then it clears off some much needed 40 man roster spots, and opens one for the recently signed Sean Rodriguez. I am also anxious to see what other player we have coming back though I am not expecting anything of significance back.
The kid is 20 fricken years old. Relax. Now if you’re stockpiling former top picks that are old like brian bullington, luke hochevar, and wade townsend, etc then youre dumb. We know what they are. This KID has plenty of time, like 5 years if thats what it takes, to find a mentor and find his place.
I think this is a good move for n=both teams. Both deal from a position of strength to fill a future potential need. The Braves have pitching but need offense…The Mariners have bats, but needed pitching depth….check for both teams!!!!!
there really is no such thing as a pitching surplus. They flame out and break at such a higher rate than position prospects that you can’t have enough. Especially when you are drafting HS arms or stocking previously injured ones.
Or using them as the most coveted trade asset. Pitching, for never being in surplus, is a constant target in trades, and can acquire top returns based on just potential.
when was the last time that a solid player was acquired or just pitching spects?
I think this is a good move for both teams. Both deal from a position of strength to fill a future potential need. The Braves have pitching, but need offense…The Mariners have bats, but needed pitching depth….check for both teams!!!!!
This weird story from braves fans that they have enough pitching talent is strange. Do you understand the attrition rate of pitching prospects, especially hs ones? This idea that some of you have that your top 5 pitching prospects are gonna comprise an mlb rotation is just sad.
TINSTAAPP
The braves have plenty of pitching depth. Their top 30 prospect list has 16 pitchers in it. More than likely 1 or 2 will make it. The braves have high hopes for
Allard
Soroka
Wentz
Anderson
Touisannt
Fried
Newcomb
Sims
That isn’t to mention that they have high hopes for players that are under the radar.
Minter
Cabrera
Muller
Jenkins
Blair
Etc.
Every team has high hopes for their prospects…
Sorry but the braves have so much pitching depth that more than likely 2-4 prospects will work out.
and then you will need 3 more to make a rotation….
Teheran, Folty, Free Agent
The comments on this site are usually pretty good but I can’t for the life of me figure out why everyone seems so upset about a prospect swap. bigmommamemes.com/094/triglochid-umbellulate-manie
I started off enjoying DiPoto, but I am questioning him a lot lately. He started by making a couple of good moves, but I feel like he has gone downhill since. He traded away Elias and Smith for what ended up being half of a terrible year of Miley, then sent Walker and Marte for Segura, and now gave up on Jackson. Walker still could be a TOR arm, which we need since Felix is starting to regress. Look at Walker’s last month of the year. Fine, Segura could be a decent piece, but he doesn’t have that track record. He didn’t hit in Milwaukee, then he moves to a hitter’s park and has a good year, and now he’s move back to a pitcher’s park. I don’t think that is going to turn out well. Not worth Walker and Marte (who has the potential to be Segura while costing $5M less).
So you trade away Walker, and your idea to fix it is to trade away another one of our top prospects in order to acquire another prospect pitcher? That’s dumb. You can say all you want about Jackson failing and how we got Lewis, so he is expendable now, but prospects don’t always pan out. And hey, if our OF of the future could have been some combination of Jackson, Lewis, O’Neill, and Gamel, that’d be fine.
I think at some point, the Mariners need to question their development staff. The talent is there with all of these guys dating back to Ackley, but for some reason, they get into our system and can’t perform. Change the staff, but don’t get rid of our guys. I’m sure he will find a way to trade Pederson next.
Great move by the Braves. When you get a chance to nab a first-rounder, you do it. Sometimes something as small as a change of scenery will do wonders to a talented athlete.
It’s not like he’s that far behind his peers. Looking at the other positional players drafted out of high school in the 1st rd of the 2014 MLB Draft, not many have distanced themselves in the minors. He’s shown he has power ability and obviously needs more plate discipline and a better walk and contact rate. If ATL is acquiring him, they obviously have had their eye on him and have seen some nice things they might can work with.
I havn’t had enough coffee today.. i kept reading Action Jackson picturing Carl Weathers playing Baseball.
I’m not sure what to think about this trade. My ‘initial’ reaction: I dont like it (I’m a Braves fan)! My hope is that Coppy/Hart have a lot of insight/intuition on this Jackson kid panning out that I/The Masses don’t have. Regardless of whether The Mariners have a lot of outfield depth in The Minors, trading away someone who is only 20 and was drafted 6th in the 2014 Draft…for 2 Minor League pitchers who, at best, have decent potential to be ‘decent’ in The Majors seems like a ‘sell low’. I cant help but feel that The Mariners dont have much faith in Jackson.
I agree, The Braves have A LOT of pitching depth in The Minors. However with injuries/attrition, you dont want to just BLOW your depth by dealing prospects for ‘lotto tickets’. True, The Mariners need pitching and if Whalen and Provse both become #3/#4 type rotation pitchers in The Majors, The Mariners will benefit. But you dont trade right handed power hitters…for a couple of, at best, #3/#4 type pitchers! You keep them, develop them, have them hit homers for you ON THE CHEAP for 6 years until they become a Free Agent.
What concerns me is that The Mariners gave up on him. Coppy traded Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez for Travis Demeritte (a power hitting/high strikeout/high walk Class A 2nd baseman that Texas basically gave up on) at The Trade Deadline. Neither Harrell nor Alvarez were what I would classify as being anything other than ‘fill-ins’ because they are nothing more than ‘replacing injured type of Major Leaguers players’. Demeritte is a ‘lotto ticket’ type of player…that only cost the equivalent of a “$2 Powerball Ticket” ($2 isnt much to have a chance to win $400 million, lol). However, acquiring a potential ‘lotto ticket’ in Jackson cost us more than “$2” (while neither Provse nor Whalen are top prospects…they have a chance to be decent Major Leaguers).
Again, I can only hope that Coppy/Hart see that with the right coaching, Jackson can turn it around (Demeritte has already show improvement with lowering his strikeout totals while generating walks….and still generating lots of power. By a number of reports, his defense has been much better than anticipated). This trade isnt the ‘end of the world’…..I just feel that we could have made a better trade when giving up Provse and Whalen.
Also, I think that this trade ENDED (thankfully) any potential trade for Sale/Archer! If we were going to make such a trade, we’d have needed to keep Provse and Whalen to provide depth/potential call-ups to The Majors….because obtaining Sale/Archer would have required giving up 5 or 6 of our best prospects (other than Albies, our best prospects are pitchers).
I posted awhile back my reasoning why I dont want to see us make any dumping prospects for Sale/Archer. We are simply not ‘one or two players , away’ from being serious playoff contenders. If we trust our scouts/our Minor League Instructors…let’s keep our prospects/develop them/reap the benefits of having a CHEAP rotation/bullpen (like The Mets have with their ‘each earning less than $1 million’ for 3 years starting rotation of Synderguard, Harvey, deGroom and Matz…and when 3 of those guys got hurt and missed the rest of the season, they had DEPTH in The Minors to bring up and still make The Playoffs!).
Maybe Coppy/Hart saw something in Whalen and Provse that made them expendable (I was feeling that Provse had ‘sleeper’ #2/#3 type potential’. However given that he doesnt strike out a lot of hitters, given his height, maybe management didnt feel that his success in Class A and AA would translate into The Majors). We’ll find out in a few years!
Bottom line…..unless we get back “a diamond in the rough’ type player as the PTBNL….this trade will probably be ‘a wash’/slightly favor The Mariners…but 7-8 years from now, not be very memorable either way!
Thumbs up. A very well thought out, well written assessment.
So I actually like this trade for two reasons (and I am a braves fan so this is a little bias):
1. Our pitching depth in this farm system is so deep I don’t see Whalen or Provse slipping into our rotation.
2. Secondly, Jackson reminds me of Demeritte. With the right coaching, we can make him something great!
There’s no comparison between the 2. One has actually showed his talent while the other is still coasting off his draft hype.
Also, Demeritte had a .935 OPS when the Braves traded for him. It dropped to .860 while in Atlanta’s system. His OBP went up a little, but his slugging went WAY down. Where is this “right coaching”?