Insider Article

[benhillboy]

Anybody got a link to the ESPN Insider article by Dave Cameron about a future dynasty? Just like ESPN to try to hide a praiseworthy article about the Braves.

[AHawks89]

If I did, I would share! But I could give a damn about what ESPN thinks although it's still interesting to hear other peoples opinions about our teams.

[AHF]

Today, we're going to focus on the teams that have gotten the most value from players no older than 25, giving them a core nucleus to build around both now and in the future.

1. Atlanta Braves | 24 WAR

The Braves are destroying every other team in baseball in production from young talent this season, and they boast perhaps the best crop of young big leaguers in the entire game. On the position-player side, they are led by 24-year-olds Andrelton Simmons, Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman. The "old guy" in the middle of their order is Justin Upton, who played most of the year at 25 before turning 26 on Aug. 25. Their rotation boasts both Mike Minor (25) and Julio Teheran (22), while Alex Wood (22) has provided value both as a starter and a reliever. Oh, and they have some guy named Craig Kimbrel (25) who is OK at closing out games.

The Braves have the second-best record in baseball, and they're doing it with one of the youngest group of core players in the sport. Other teams that have similar aged players in key positions are focused solely on rebuilding and accumulating experience, while the Braves are riding their host of young kids to a division title and potential World Series run.

Atlanta has long been known as a player development machine, but the group the Braves have put together might just be their most impressive collection yet. Sixty percent of their total team WAR has come from the young player group. For comparison, the Braves have gotten more production from players 25-and-under than the Mariners, Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Blue Jays, Cubs, Padres, Astros, Yankees and Twins combined.

That's 10 big league franchises, several of them in full-on rebuilding mode with a primary focus on acquiring and developing young talent, and even if you put them all together, they don't have enough good young players to match what the 2013 Braves have amassed.

The Cardinals, Rays and others deserve the praise that is regularly heaped upon them, but let's not overlook what GM Frank Wren and his staff have done in Atlanta. This is a great team built around young players with bright futures.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9670251/atlanta-braves-lead-way-teams-getting-most-production-young-players-mlb

[benhillboy]

Good looking, AHF. Our scouting department is exceptional. Freddie is the man, but our diamond asset is Endrelton. He's already arguably widely regarded as the best defensive shorty in the game. And you can tell lately in interviews he's maturing everyday and getting a better grasp on scouting pitchers. Let alone he's a very classy kid, something not common with today's great young Latin players. If he finds a way to hit about .285 while his already impressive power increases, he'll win an MVP award sooner than later.

Edited September 26, 2013 by benhillboy

[ATLHawks3]

Good looking, AHF. Our scouting department is exceptional. Freddie is the man, but our diamond asset is Endrelton. He's already arguably widely regarded as the best defensive shorty in the game. And you can tell lately in interviews he's maturing everyday and getting a better grasp on scouting pitchers. Let alone he's a very classy kid, something not common with today's great young Latin players. If he finds a way to hit about .285 while his already impressive power increases, he'll win an MVP award sooner than later.

Few notes, ANDRELTON is from Caracao, a Dutch Island in the carribean. And he will win an MVP as soon as he fixes his swing a bit. He pops to many balls up, but if he could cut down on flying off after his swing, the dude will be dangerous.