Grading the Nate McLouth Deal

The Braves made a big move to acquire Nate McLouth the other day, giving up three top prospects in Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jeffrey Locke to the Pirates. This is a great move for both teams.

For the Pirates it gives them a little bit more pitching depth for the future and a pretty solid outfield prospect in Gorkys Hernandez.

Charlie Morton is having a fantastic season in Triple-A so far, with a 2.51 ERA with the Braves Triple-A system and a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has a chance to make an impact soon. He could make for a good four starter, quite possibly a third if he can bring that same success to the majors.

Hernandez was a top five prospect in the Braves system. He has very good speed and can hit well. He lacks power, but he would give the Pirates good range in the outfield and a top-of-the-order hitter.

Then there is Jeffrey Locke, who could wind up being the best prospect of them all. Although he is ranked below Gorkys, and struggling a bit in the minors, he has got the tools to be very good.

He has been given some high ratings for his control and strikeout ratios, which could make him a top of the order pitcher. However, we probably won’t see him for at least another two years, but keep an eye on Locke.

It also allows them to bring up one of their top prospects, Andrew McCutchen, who was tearing it up in Triple-A.

This could also free up some more money for a very good pitching prospect in Aaron Crow, but it sounds like they will go a cheaper route and take catcher Tony Sanchez. If they do take Sanchez, it may be a big mistake and send the wrong message to the Pittsburgh fans.

They need a lot of things, but they need to get better pitching prospects, and Crow could give them that.

As for the Braves, they obviously get a very talented center fielder in McLouth, who makes few errors and is not too shabby with the bat either. They need more pop in the lineup and he can probably hit 20 home runs and have a nice OPS. Plus, he can fit in a lot of different spots in the lineup, he can lead off, bat second, third, fifth, and so on.

Not to mention he's only 27 years old, so he has got a lot of baseball ahead of him and he also hasn’t quite hit his prime yet.

Now, the Braves should not settle. They are still in need of a right-handed bat to fit in that lineup and it may be time to cut ties with Jeff Franceour as well.

Some options could still include Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, Jermaine Dye, and possibly Carlos Lee, if they could take on that payroll. My bet would be Mark DeRosa or Jermaine Dye since they would likely come at a cheaper price.

 

Grades:    

Atlanta Braves: A-

Pittsburgh Pirates: B+