Rob Whalen, John Gant to Braves: Trade Details, Scouting Report, Reaction

The Atlanta Braves added a pair of prospective arms to their talent pool on Friday evening by trading infielder Juan Uribe and outfielder Kelly Johnson to the New York Mets for Rob Whalen and Jon Gant, according to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  

The New York Post's Joel Sherman originally reported the two pitchers going to Atlanta in the trade with a Mets team desperate for bats. 

Gant has pitched 99.2 innings this season in the minors, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A ball. He is 6-5, with a 3.52 ERA, but has run into some trouble since being promoted to Double-A. He was 4-5, with a 4.70 ERA, after going 2-0, with a 1.79 ERA. He was selected in the 21st round of the 2011 MLB draft out of Wiregrass High School in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Whalen was playing High-A ball with the Port St. Lucie Mets, with a 4-5 record to go with a 3.36 ERA. Whalen was drafted a year after Gant in the 12th round out of Haines City High School, also in Florida.

Sherman has the scouting report for both players:

While the Braves gave up some major league talent, their return is not so close as MLB.com's Anthony DiComo explains:

But it seems that Atlanta is looking to stock as many possible young arms in their system as possible. Of their top-20 prospects, according to MLB.com, 13 of them are pitchers. The Braves could be looking for those arms to recreate the dynastic run they had in the National League East behind the likes of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. 

It seems that their two newest arms won't take the team to those heights, according to MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com's Toby Hyde:

But as Sherman discussed, it seems that Gant and Whalen are capable of developing electric stuff. Gant appears to be a little closer to the majors than Whalen, but they still have plenty of honing they need to do. If any organization can groom pitchers, it's the Braves, as they might be able to make something out of two new pitchers who have been afterthoughts in the Mets' deep pool.

Stats courtesy of MiLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com.