Random Former Prospect Sunday - Matt Harrison

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Elsa/Getty Images

Not only have we reached the end of this series, it concludes perfectly with one of the four uber-prospects the Texas Rangers acquired in exchange for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay. You have to wonder if Mahay ever gets upset that nobody mentions that the Braves got him as well. It's always the Teix deal, not the Teix/Mahay deal. Poor guy.

The 2003 draft was eventful for the Braves. They didn't pick until 35th overall and selected Luis Atilano and Jarrod Saltalamacchia back-to-back. They also selected Jo-Jo Reyes, Jamie Romak, Brandon Jones, and in the 30th round, they grabbed Jonny Venters out of Lake Brantley High School (Florida). Venters has had the second best bWAR from that draft for the Braves. The top bWAR came from the guy the Braves picked 900 picks earlier - Harrison. He was Atlanta's sixth pick in the Top 100.

Before Atlanta selected him, Harrison was a lefty out of South Granville High School (go Vikings!). The school had only produced one major leaguer - the generically named Jeff Johnson, who pitched parts of three seasons with the Yankees with a 6.52 ERA. Harrison had a scholarship offer to attend North Carolina State, but gave it up to ink a contract with the Atlanta Braves. Just 17 years-old, Harrison headed to the Gulf Coast League for his first taste of professional ball. He showed a solid ability to throw strikes, which is sometimes difficult for teenage pitchers, and after two years at rookie ball, Harrison headed to Rome to begin 2005. It was a nice season from the tall lefty as he finished with a 3.23 ERA over 167 innings. He maintained a 3.9 K/BB rate and while the homerun rate wasn't excellent, it was still a solid year.

It did not, however, get him in the Top 100 prospects. The next season would change that. Splitting the season between Myrtle Beach and Mississippi, Harrison finished with a 3.35 ERA and pretty similar rates overall. While certainly not an ace, he was a productive prospect with a chance to contribute as a left-handed starter - something that often comes with a high degree of value. Baseball America ranked him as the #90th best prospect in baseball while Baseball Prospectus was even higher on him, placing him #79th.

2007 looked like it might be the year for Harrison, who had already logged a dozen starts in Double-A. However, something was a little off. His K/BB rate, which had never been under 3.45, was sitting at 2.29 by late July. He had always given up his share of hits, but Harrison's calling card was his ability to not hurt himself with walks. Now, compared to many of his peers, a 2.6 BB/9 is hardly a bad thing, but it was a half-a-walk higher than any other season. What the Braves, and the league, didn't know is that Harrison was hurt. Shortly before the end of July, he was placed on the disabled list.

That threw a wrench into a negotiation currently under way. John Schuerholz was desperate to avoid a second consecutive year out of the playoffs after 14 straight division titles. Despite clear issues in the rotation, Schuerholz zeroed in on the possibility of out-slugging everyone with the young and powerful Teixeira. The Rangers saw a chance to maximize Teix's value before he hit free agency after the 2008 season. They wanted Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and Neftali Feliz - a dynamic package with three Top 100 talents. They also wanted Harrison, but his injury concerned them. To smooth things over, the Braves added lefty Beau Jones, who they had taken with the 41st pick of the 2005 draft. Jones was an interesting arm, but the Braves saw him as a bullpen prospect so they weren't very attached. The Rangers agreed to the five-prospect package and Harrison headed to Texas. He would be shut down for the remainder of the minor league season, but did made seven starts in the Arizona Fall League.

It didn't take long for Harrison to get to the majors after that. He made 15 starts with the Rangers in the summer of '08, but it wasn't until 2011 that he established himself. He made a full 30 start season for the Rangers, brought his walks down, and did a better job at keeping the ball in the yard. The results was a 185.2 ING campaign in which he had a 3.39 ERA and 3.52 FIP. He even made a start in Turner Field on June 18. He was in line for the win until Darren Oliver blew it. Texas scored off Scott Proctor in the ninth because using Scott Proctor in a tied extra inning game only works when Jerry Meals is behind the plate. Felix came in and got the save with K's of Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward.

Harrison was even better the next year. He lowered his ERA to 3.29, picked up his first 200-inning season, was an All-Star, and even picked up a Cy Young vote or two. Knowing they had a potential workhorse on their hands, the Rangers gave Harrison a $55M extension to buy out his final two years of arbitration and first three years of free agency. He would be team-controlled through at least his Age-31 season with an option for 2018.

But...that didn't work out so well. In the three years that have transpired since signing the extension, Harrison has made just 9 starts. His back injuries led him to eventually succumb to lumbar spinal disc fusion surgery in June of 2014. He - well, his contract - was also traded to the Phillies last July in the big Cole Hamels trade.

As 2016 is just around the corner, things have not change for Harrison. His back remains an issue and the Phillies don't expect him to contribute "anytime soon, if at all." It's unfortunate news for the lefty has been stuck in a bystander role just after reaching the heights of his career. Will he ever throw another meaningful pitch? That remains to be seen. You have to hope he does because never pitching again because of a back injury is a tough way to go out. Still, it's not looking good for the first pitcher of the Teix trade to get to the majors.

And that concludes the Former Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects as a Brave who Never Actually Played in Atlanta. Oh, that explains why I shortened the title. To go back through the list, you can either click any of the links below or just click here to run through them in reverse chronological order.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Brett Evert
Rob Bell
Jose Peraza
Tom Redington
Dennis Burlingame
J.R. Graham
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Brett Evert

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Fernando Medina/Getty Images

The seventh round of the 1999 draft gave us just two major leaguers in 30 picks. Andy Philips, who had an entirely average existence after being the 27th pick of the round, and Coco Crisp, who has logged a nice career after the Cardinals took him with the 18th pick of the round. The final pick of the round was Brett Evert by the Braves. For eight years, he tried to rise the ladder, but finished his career with just shy of 800 minor league innings. But his time with the Braves doesn't end there.

Born in Salem, Oregon a week before Halloween in 1980, Evert was a tall righty who honed his craft with the North Salem High School Vikings. The school notably produced Jed Lowrie, who is about four years younger than Evert. As he finished his high school playing days, Evert was set to attend San Diego State on a scholarship, but when the Braves came calling, he took the $169,500 and postponed his college experience.

Evert joined the Braves in the Gulf Coast League after signing and was pretty impressive from the moment he showed up. Much more physically matured than some of his peers, Evert offset mid-90's velocity with a feel for a change-up and curveball. Over 48.2 innings with the GCL Braves, he walked just eight unintentionally and did not surrender a homerun while striking out 39. If anything, he was bit by the kind of thing that gets young pitchers - balks. He was called for a quartet of them in 1999. He would only be called on three more for the remainder of his career.

Opening 2000 with Jamestown in the New York-Penn League, Evert was way too hittable and that continued during a seven-start run with Macon to finish the season. He was a decent enough prospect at this time. Just 19 years-old during the 2000 season, he showed pretty good control and got a fair amount of strikeouts, but overall, Evert wasn't a Top 10 prospect. Maybe not even a Top 20 prospect. He was just a guy with a decent fastball and a chance.

Things changed after 2001. Returning to Macon to open the year, Evert overmatched the South Atlantic League over a half-dozen starts. He was no longer too hittable and over 36.1 innings, he struck out 34 and walked just three. It was night and day compared to the seven starts he logged with Macon the previous season. The Braves promoted the 20 year-old up the chain to Myrtle Beach and he continued to excel. He tossed his first shutout, increased his strikeout rate, and looked like one of the best prospects on a team that included Jung Bong, Trey Hodges, Wilson Betemit, Ryan Langerhans, and Adam LaRoche. The season received praise from Baseball America, who ranked Evert the #66th prospect in baseball.

He wouldn't stay in the Top 100 for long, though. 2002 saw Evert fail at AA and look considerably less dominant in a ten-start run with the Pelicans. His ERA climbed nearly three runs in one season and most of his prospect starpower eroded. In 2003, the Braves kept Evert in AA and even a run as a reliever did little to bring back the great numbers of '01. He would be cut from the organization after further struggles in 2004, including a horrid run with Richmond in his AAA debut. Hooking on with the Mariners, he showed no improvement to finish the year.

Opening 2005 with Tacoma, Evert was almost entirely a reliever during a small run with the team before being cut. Joining the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Evert bounced between levels, receiving time at Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. His numbers with Huntsville in the Southern League were both interesting (4.6 K/BB) and alarming (1.8 HR/9). 2006 brought similar results and also including his fourth and final organization - the Boston Red Sox. He made one start for Pawtucket, his final game at AAA, and appeared in nine games out of the bullpen for Double-A Portland. He was cut at the end of the year and joined Lancaster of the Atlantic League for a start. He returned in 2007, but pitched poorly.

That year was it for Evert. After eight years in organized ball, plus another on the independent scene, Evert's career came to a close with an overall ERA of 4.09. But it wasn't the end of his baseball journey. The following year, Evert caught on with the Colorado Rockies as a part-time Northwest scout for the Rockies. That lasted a year until the Braves came calling for a second time with an offer - full-time scout of the northwest. He took the position and is now one of Atlanta's top regional scouts, supervising the Northwest, Northern California, and Western Canada. He signed Brandon Drury and Cody Martin, players who made their major league debuts last season. Last June, he pushed the Braves to select Mike Soroka, the young Canadian right-hander selected at the tail end of the first round. He was also influential in Atlanta's fourth round pick of Josh Graham, the University of Oregon righty. When the 2016 draft comes, look for the locations of some of the prospects. If they come from the northwest and western Canada, Evert was likely one of the guys who convinced Atlanta to draft the guy.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Rob Bell
Jose Peraza
Tom Redington
Dennis Burlingame
J.R. Graham
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Rob Bell

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Scott Halleran/Allsport/Getty

After finishing with 106 victories in 1998, the Atlanta Braves ultimately failed to advance to the World Series. It was a disappointing end to an impressive team that became just the second team in history to have five pitchers with at least 16 wins. While they had plenty of pitching, the '98 Braves had some issues at the plate. Keith Lockhart received 401 plate appearances as the primary second baseman in 1998 and struggled at the plate along with showing his poor range in the field. Michael Tucker, who had arrived with Lockhart before the 1997 season, also was a disappointment with the bat. To fix the latter, Atlanta signed Brian Jordan. The former? Well, they would need to break up their rotation to push a deal through. But that wasn't all. They would also have to deal one of their top pitching prospects.

The Braves saw in the Reds a team that could help them deal with not only the issue at second base, but almost improve the bullpen depth. Bret Boone had just made his first All-Star Game and won his first Gold Glove after slashing .266/.325/.458 with the Reds. Meanwhile, the Braves felt Mike Remlinger was being misused by the Reds as a swingman when he was better suited for bullpen work. John Schuerholz wanted both players and dangled Denny Neagle, who had just finished with a 3.55 ERA and was receiving an increased salary as a result of being part of Atlanta's famed rotation. With the development of Kevin Millwood along with prospects like Odalis Perez and Bruce Chen, the Braves didn't need Neagle as much as they needed offense. The Reds liked the deal, which would also bring Tucker to Cincinnati, but Reds GM Jim Bowden wasn't going to give up Boone and Remlinger without an extra piece - right-handed prospect Rob Bell. The Braves wanted to keep Bell, who had been third round pick of the '95 draft, but chose to take the deal.

It was a moment of significant change for Bell. Before being drafted by the Braves, he had attended Central High School in Marlboro, New York - a "hamlet" with less than 4000 people about two hours north of New York City. After two years to forget to begin his professional career, Bell made significant improvement in 1997 with the Macon Braves before seemingly coming into his own as a member of the Danville 97's, the one and only year of the club (read more). In 28 starts, Bell struck out 197 in 178.1 ING. He rarely walked anyone and kept the ball in the yard while maintaining an ERA of 3.28. It was the kind of year that gets you noticed and Bell improved his Baseball America prospect ranking from #68th overall after '97 to #35th. No wonder the Reds wanted him so bad.

Injuries limited his effectiveness the following year, though he was still a Top 60 prospect according to Baseball America. He would reach the majors in 2000 as a member of the opening day rotation. It was a hyper-aggressive move for a player with just 72 innings at AA, but the Reds were positive they had found their next big starter. Bell looked unfit to be in the majors, struggling to the tune of a 6.08 FIP in 26 starts. He gave up way too many homers (2.1 per nine) and walked a small village. The following season, the Reds again brought him north, but after nine starts, Cincinnatti cut bait and traded him to the Rangers for Edwin Encarnacion and Ruben Mateo.

Bell's season grew from bad-to-awful with Texas. In his 8th start, he surrendered eight runs and seven earned. That wasn't hugely surprising in itself as he had given up seven runs in his previous start. What was surprising - or at least noteworthy - was the fact that he had given up FIVE homeruns while recording just six outs. It broke the record for fewest outs recorded while surrendering at least five homeruns. Nearly 14 years later, Detroit's Shane Greene would push Bell out of the worst record book of all time by recording just five outs and giving up five homers.

Bell would pitch an additional 94 innings with the Rangers in 2002 and actually posted the best FIP of his career - 4.83. He was released after the season and landed with the Devil Rays. Bell continued to receive starts and over a three year period, he started 40 games for the Rays. His 5.28 ERA with Tampa Bay nearly matched his 5.36 FIP. Finally, Tampa Bay moved on and Bell would spent the next three years playing in four different organizations, but only getting to the majors again in 2007 with the O's for 30 ugly games as a reliever. He threw his last pitch as a member of the Charlotte Knights in May of 2008.

Since retiring, Bell has entered the world of sales as a member of the Hudson Valley Renegades, the short-season Class-A squad for the Rays. After beginning as a sales executive, he was promoted to Director of Corporate Sales. You can follow his continued involvement with baseball by checking out his twitter account.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Jose Peraza
Tom Redington
Dennis Burlingame
J.R. Graham
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Jose Peraza

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Prospects can blind you.

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Jose Peraza did for me when he came up through the ranks. I saw the speed (back-to-back 60 steal years), high batting average (especially for his age), and grew immediately fond of him. In fact, this will be the 44th blog post at Walk-Off Walk that has mentioned Peraza so he's received a good deal of press from just me. I loved him so much that I ignored that for a leadoff hitter, he was swing-happy and completely dependent on a high batting average and speed to be at all effective in the in that role. No, that didn't matter to me. He was going to be a star.

And he still might be. However, my expectations have decreased and I don't think I'm alone in that.

Signed during the summer of 2010 out of Venezuela, Peraza made his professional debut the following year in the Dominican Summer League. His numbers really didn't capture anyone's attention at that point. The next year, however, some of us took notice. Splitting time between Danville and the Gulf Coast League, Peraza posted a triple slash of .296/.350/.374 in 2012. He swiped 25 bases, but remember that was only in 53 games. He was at this point an interesting prospect, but not a guy jockeying for position in the top 20 prospects.

That changed in 2013. While his triple slash was remarkably similar with a 12 point drop in overall OPS, he swiped 64 bases in 79 attempts while showing a decent eye (34 walks/64 K's). He also had a knack for using his speed to turn doubles into triples, picking up eight of them. When, in 2014, he showed that it wasn't a fluke by hitting .339 with 60 steals in 110 games between Lynchburg and Mississippi, it became clear that the Braves had a great prospect on their hands. He had moved to second base, where nobody was blocking him, and he sat atop many Top Braves Prospects rankings.

But that was also part of what blinded us. Yes, he was the top Braves prospect, but at the time, that didn't say much on its own. The system was short on impact talent so whatever talent was there was propped up by how desperate things were. It reminds me of when Kyle Davies arrived in the majors. He was a decent prospect and all, but his value was made higher by being one of the few starting prospects that looked potentially good as the Braves transitioned into the post Big Three-era.

I'm not saying Peraza will have a similar career to Davies, but as we overlooked Davies' weaknesses, we overlooked Peraza's and they were damning. After walking 34 times in 2013, he walked 34 times TOTAL the next two seasons. He found a way to hit .293 at two different Triple-A stops in 2015 and manage just a .316 OBP. If you want to relate that to the majors, since 1990, only eight players who received at least 500 plate appearances hit at least .290 with an OBP below .320 and each reached double digits in homeruns, something that seems unlikely to happen with Peraza.

Now, of course we tell ourselves that prospects will improve and mature and many times, they do. Peraza has such great bat control that he can put the ball in play at a high frequency and if counting stats attract your attention, he has the potential to post 200-hit seasons with strong stolen base numbers. But his likelihood of success with such limitations are low.

Fans grew upset when he was included in the Hector Olivera trade last July and I wondered why. The Braves had replaced Peraza on the Future Leadoff Hitter depth chart with a player with more dynamic ability in Mallex Smith while having a better all-around player in Ozhaino Albies as an impact middle infield prospect. But then I remembered...our perception of Peraza might not match the reality of the situation. In over 2000 plate appearances as a professional, Peraza has walked just 98 times. As long as he hits .300, that's acceptable (though frustrating). But if that average drops, we start having the debate on whether Peraza is a suitable major league starter.

That's not exactly the kind of debate we should have on a guy who was once considered the top prospect in the system, but again, that's not to say that Peraza is a bust. He's got plenty of time to establish himself as a contributing major league player and/or improve certain flaws in his game. It wasn't fair to him that we overranked him and labeled him as the "next big thing" when his skillset was so limited. But as the 2016 season approaches and Peraza is with his third team since this time last year, it's important to remember that its his limitations that make him so available. Teams love what skills he does have, but he's never going to rank as untouchable. The Braves and Dodgers proved that.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Tom Redington
Dennis Burlingame
J.R. Graham
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Tom Redington

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Greatest21Days.com

Only two players on my list of former Top 100 Braves prospects who never played for the Braves also played in the 80's. Two weeks ago, I looked at Dennis Burlingame, a right-handed pitcher who was expected to join his former minor league roommate Steve Avery in the majors but ultimately fell short. This Sunday, we look at the other player from the 80's. Ranked as the #58th best prospect in baseball in 1990, Tom Redington was expected to be a power bat that could join the Braves' lineup and become a star. Instead, his career would end before the second half of the 90's and he would never play AAA.

Before he was a third round pick in 1987, Redington was a star for Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California. The school has produced such stars like Mike Simms, Jonathan Pettibone, and David Newhan so you know it's a haven for baseball players. I kid, but Redington did fit the bill as a future big-time asset for the Braves. An University of Arizona recruit, his many accolades included the LA Times' 1987 Orange County Player of the Year for a season in which he hit .366 with 9 HR. His 22 career homers tied the Orange County record. He was considered a very advanced player with Bob Wadsworth, the Braves scout who signed Redington, commenting that his ability at the moment of signing was comparable to a "college junior." Then-Braves general manager Bobby Cox said that Redington's "bat will carry him to the major leagues."

After inking a contract that included a $100,000 bonus two months after the draft, Redington played about three weeks of ball for Sumter in which he was impressive. Still just 19 in 1988, the Braves wanted to see Redington do it over a full year so they returned him to Sumter, but this time, things just didn't go right. He hit just .196 with a .627 OPS. Now, it should be noted that he walked more than he struck out and still maintained a .320 OBP, but the Braves expected more. Redington blamed his swing for the problems and his manager, Ned Yost, also pointed out that he had to improve his attitude. "He had never experienced any adversity before. He has been used to his whole life being regular Tom Redington, not having to work hard and still being able to excel."

In 1989, Redington's work started to pay off. Beginning the year in Burlington, Redington slashed .299/.412/.517 with 17 homers and again, more walks than strikeouts. Named the Midwest League's MVP, the third baseman outclassed future major leaguers on the roster like Keith Mitchell and Mike Mordecai and it looked like Cox's premonition that Redington's bat would get him moving up the ladder finally was going to be realized. He would spend the last month in Greenville, though he would struggle there. Nevertheless, it was the kind of promising season that gets a player noticed and Baseball America gave him a Top 100 ranking before the 1990 season.

Unfortunately, 1990 was another year of stagnation and would also be Redington's final season with the organization. He would spend the entire year with Greenville, but slashed just .252/.354/.377. If he had been a second baseman, those numbers would have been acceptable, but he was a third baseman and not a terribly good one at that. In a system that was bursting with talent, Redington was losing steam and the Braves felt no need to protect themselves from losing him. In the minor league portion of the 1991 Rule 5 draft, the Padres grabbed him.

His numbers didn't improve much during a second season at AA with his average increasing, but his power dissipating. The next season, he jumped to the White Sox's AA squad in Birmingham and his numbers got even worse. He would miss 1993 likely because of injury before returning to organized ball with his hometown California Angels. Over the next two seasons where he played largely for A+ Lake Elsinore, he showed an excellent bat while hitting against pitchers younger than him. The Angels only gave him 38 PA above A+ during that time. After the 1995 season, his career was over.

Cox missed on Redington, but that's the nature of prospects. Even the ones you are convinced will one day be a major leaguer fail. It's what makes the success stories all the more sweet.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Dennis Burlingame
J.R. Graham
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Dennis Burlingame

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Of the many players on this list, Dennis Burlingame stands out. He's the oldest pitcher - by far - of the collection of former prospects who both appeared on the Baseball America Top 100 as a Braves prospect and failed to appear for the Atlanta Braves. A Phillies fan as a kid from south New Jersey, Burlingame was expected to be part of the new Braves of the 90's. Instead, he would play seven years in the minors before his career came to an abrupt and disappointing end.

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/

The 1987 draft was an example of how little Atlanta actually got out of their drafts in the 80's. For every Tom Glavine and Steve Avery, there was a draft like 1987 where the Braves picked Derek Lilliquist with the sixth overall pick. Three picks later, the Royals selected Kevin Appier. While Appier was rarely excellent, he still had a career worth about 50 bWAR better than Lilliquist. But at least Lilliquist made it to the majors. Only Keith Mitchell (4th round), Brian Hunter (8th), Mike Stanton (13th), and David Nied (14th) joined him out of the 50 players selected by the Braves. Burlingame was picked with the 116th overall selection out of Kingsway Regional High School. The only player ever picked out of that school was his brother, Greg, who originally went in the 15th round five years before but didn't sign. Greg went to community college before transferring to the University of Hawaii where the Mariners selected him 18 rounds after Dennis in 1987.

The younger Burlingame didn't start his career until 1988, when he showed some excellent control as a 19 year-old in the South Atlantic League. He didn't strike out many, but walked just 2.4 BB/9 and with an ERA of 2.49, it was a successful first season. Elbow troubles would limit him over the next years. He was great when he was on the mound and his 0.50 ERA in 54.1 ING during 1989 caught the eye of Baseball America, who ranked him as the 50th best prospect heading into 1990. That made him the fourth-best prospect in the system behind lefthanders Avery, Stanton, and Kent Mercker. His biggest moment of those two injury-shortened years came on Opening Day of the 1989 season. Avery and Burlingame, who were also roommates, both were tabbed to start the two games of a double header for the Durham Bulls. Burlingame got the first start and set down all 21 batters he faced in a seven-inning perfect game. In the minors, double header games are shortened to seven innings a piece. Avery came in for the night cap and tossed six scoreless himself while allowing two hits. By the end of the day, the Frederick Keys only found solace in saying "well, they can't pitch tomorrow."

Once Burlingame finally returned in 1991 to full-time action, something was lacking. He still maintained a solid ERA, but his control took a nosedive. Elbow surgeries back in that era didn't come with the success rate you see today. Instead, a guy who had walked under 2 batters per 9 during his career walked 80 in 161.1 ING (4.5 per nine). On the bright side, the innings was nice to see after pitching 90 total the previous two seasons and his ERA still looked nice at 3.01, but the control was definitely an issue. The following season, 1992, was pretty similar to his previous year. A good ERA at 3.09, a workhouse quality 151.2 innings, and a mediocre 1.4 K/BB. On one hand, he was now a graduate of AA. On the other, his numbers told the story of organizational filler rather than the potential high-value prospect of 1989.

It seemed to all come apart for Burlingame in 1993. He got six games, including one start, for the Richmond Braves, but walked a small village of 14 in 14.2 ING. He struck out just five. He also walked more batters than he struck out during 66.2 innings with Greenville. In an effort to get him going, Atlanta gave him six starts in Macon and while his control looked better there, he still didn't pitch that well (his 2.02 ERA doesn't match his deeper numbers).

Before heading to spring training in 1994, Burlingame did a baseball clinic for 12 and 13 year-olds. It was a nice opportunity for him to try to give back to his local community where he attempted to give kids an inside look on the path to the bigs. He then went to camp in Florida and tried to get back on that path himself through any means at his disposal. A month later, the Braves gave Burlingame a new task. He would head to the California League to work as a knuckleballer for a team the Braves had a working relationship with. In light of the success of Tim Wakefield for the Pirates, teams were interested in using the knuckler as a way to give project pitchers a shot to find themselves again. Burlingame's one year as a professional knuckleballer was atrocious. He paced the league in runs allowed and walked 104 batters, also a league-high. He was cut after the season.

Burlingame had an opportunity to continue his professional career. At least eight teams offered him a chance to join their spring camp as a replacement player if the Strike didn't come to a close heading into the 1995 season. Burlingame, who pumped gas as an offseason job, had to be tempted - but ultimately said no. Either he was going to be a major leaguer by earning it or not. Instead, he went to Mexico and tried to keep the dream alive, but soon retired after just two games. He returned home and began a high school coaching career in 2001. In addition, he is a pitching coach for the South Jersey Bulpen, a baseball academy where he is a colleague of former Brave Dwayne Henry.

Random Former Prospect Sunday - J.R. Graham

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Bruce Hemmelgarn/Getty

There was a time where Braves fans penciled J.R. Graham's name into future rotations. A right-hander with three quality pitches including a mid-90's fastball, Graham reached Mississippi just a year after the Braves grabbed him in the 4th round of the 2011 draft. He was a big asset in a system with a dwindling amount of pitching prospects once the Big Four of Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, and Arodys Vizcaino either made it to the bigs or were traded. But...that's how far the story goes. Well, with the Braves at least.

Originally selected in the 46th round of the '08 draft by the A's, the California-born Graham decided to attend Santa Clara University instead. The Broncos have produced a lot of draftees (160 total), but only three have gone on to have a 10 WAR or better career according to Baseball-Reference with Randy Winn their most notable player. The last time the Braves selected a player from Santa Clara was back in 1990 when they selected generic infielder Ed Giovanola. But in 2011, Graham was still available for the Braves in the 4th round. The #146th overall pick was ranked by Baseball America as the 120th best prospect heading into the draft so that was good value for Frank Wren's team.

After signing, Graham blitzed the APPY League over nearly 60 innings. He carried an impressive 4 K/BB ratio and gave up no homers in that time frame. His maturity and quick success prompted the Braves to push Graham past Rome so that he could start 2012 with the Lynchburg Hillcats. It worked rather well. In 17 starts, he duplicated his 4 K/BB rate in a bigger sample size (102.1 ING). His K's fell, but so did his walks. He pitched well beyond his years and it almost seemed like he had yet to be challenged. Atlanta sought to solve that by promoting him to Mississippi to finish the year. The Braves under Wren often attached accelerated timetables to the college pitchers they selected and Graham was no different. With about 205 innings under his belt, he was just a step away from the majors.

At that time, Graham had an impressive collection of pitches with a mid-90's fastball that had heavy sink on it. He kept hitters off balanced with a nice change-of-pace plus a swing-and-miss slider. If he could only stay healthy, he was going to remain a big part of the picture for the Braves.

Ah, but there's the rub. 2013 was an eight-start shortened season where he dealt with shoulder issues, which caused his velocity to tail off. Going through adversity is not uncommon for Graham. He was born three months prematurely at just 2 pounds. He even stopped breathing in his father's hands before being revived. Graham fights for every little thing he achieves and plays with a chip on his shoulders. An aggressive hurler, he earns the reputation as a bulldog. Now that he had control of his stuff, he wasn't going to let an injury keep him down for long.

Unfortunately, his body disagreed. While theoretically healthy during much of 2014, shoulder problems are a very difficult thing for a pitcher to shake. The Braves tried to baby him, giving him a strict pitch limit to keep his innings down. He didn't reached 70 pitches until his tenth start and after a good start to his season, his numbers began to decline. Graham would miss nearly a month of baseball before a late July return. After four brief starts, he moved to the bullpen and didn't have much success there either. All told, he had a 5.58 ERA in 71 innings with a 1.9 K/BB rate.

After the season, the Braves and their new front office had some Rule 5 decisions to make. They chose to protect Yean Carlos Gil and Williams Perez over Graham and Cody Martin, another successful ex-college pitcher. While Gil would later be designated for assignment, keeping Perez turned out to be the right move as he would start 20 games for the Braves in 2015. Martin would pass through the Rule 5 draft and briefly looked good in the majors before being shipped out in a trade. Graham didn't last nearly as long. The Twins selected him in the Rule 5.

A full-time move to the pen and a good offseason returned a lot of the velocity Graham had been missing. He was back in the mid-90's with max speeds of 98 mph. A lot of people were upset with the Braves for letting him go for nothing. His early success with the Twins gave their disappointment more validity. After 1.1 innings with a K against the Reds on July 1, Graham had a 2.92 ERA over his first 22 games and 37 innings. The walks (11) were a bit high and homers (6) stood out, but he was showing some good things. He even made a spot start against the Brewers on June 6, going 4 innings and allowing a run on a homerun. However, things got ugly after July 1. Over his final 17 games, he gave up 23 runs in 26.2 ING. Relegated to only low-leverage innings, he pitched sparingly over the final weeks especially with the Twins trying to stay alive in the Wild Card race. He also missed a little time toward the end of August with shoulder troubles.

Much was made about the Braves' decision to not protect Graham. Most of this is attached to fans overvaluing their team's prospects. The Braves had a pitcher who, while clearly talented, was being sidetracked by shoulder issues. In today's modern medicine world, it's just a reality that it's easier to fix ligament damage than shoulder trouble. The Braves made that point clear by picking Daniel Winkler in the same Rule 5 draft where Graham went to the Twins. Winkler, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery, was viewed as an asset to bet on versus Graham.

The Twins now don't have to feel the need to keep Graham in the majors to satisfy the Rule 5 rules so we might see Graham back in the minors when 2016 opens. Always the fighter, it's easy to root for Graham. But the chances that the Braves will regret losing him are pretty slim.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Elvis Andrus
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Elvis Andrus

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Tom Szczerbowski | Getty

Much like the case was with Neftali Feliz, the Braves faithful never really had a chance to get excited about Elvis Andrus. Sure, by July of 2007, Andrus had already appeared in Baseball America's Top 100 twice, but he was still just in A-ball. Also, it wasn't like the Braves needed to worry about the shortstop position. Yunel Escobar had just arrived in the majors and was playing behind Kelly Johnson and the just-30 year-old Edgar Renteria. Andrus was nice, but the Braves were pretty set for the next few years.

Except...well, you know that story.

Andrus was just 18 years-old when he was dealt to the Rangers. Even so, he was considered so advanced and mature that he began his career, at 16, in the Gulf Coast League. Signed out of Venezuela, the standard assignment would have seen Andrus spend a year at the Braves' Dominican Academy, get some game action the next year in the Dominican Summer League, and head to the states for more rookie ball in his Age-18 year. But that was not for Andrus, who began the season hitting .295 in the Gulf Coast League. He even got a week with Danville to end the season. A .380 OBP at two rookie league stops? Where do I sign up?

2006 wasn't impressive on the surface - he only slashed .265/.324/.362 - but he was just 17 years-old when the season began. Ozhaino Albies was a full year older this year and was the youngest player in the South Atlantic League. With Andrus, his age and placement would have been enough to garner attention, but the fact that he was such a gifted gloveman was the icing on the cake. Sure, he committed a lot of errors (32 to be exact), but that's part of the learning experience for a young shortstop. Minor league infields are not nearly as maintained (especially in the low minors) and having Kala Ka'aihue at first base certainly won't help your errors numbers. Wow, Kala...how I had unreasonable hopes for you.

The next season, 2007, saw more of the same for Andrus. He flashed more speed, but his OPS was sitting around .665 when John Schuerholz got antsy. The Braves were 55-51 and 4.5 games back in the NL East. Scott Thorman had been a failure at first base while Julio Franco, who was at the end of his rope, was brought back to help out. But the problem for Schuerholz is that he felt by making the offense better, it might hide the deficiencies of a pitching staff that was abysmal. It was not a good plan. Tim Hudson and John Smoltz had no support in the rotation and were flanked by Chuck James, Buddy Carlyle, Kyle Davies, Jo-Jo Reyes, Lance Cormier, Mark Redman, Jeff Bennett, and Anthony Lerew during the 2007 season. The quantity did little to assist the quality. The bullpen was hardly shutdown, either. Bob Wickman's luck ran out, Oscar Villarreal wasn't vulturing wins, Tyler Yates's fastball had no movement, and Mike Gonzalez was hurt (shocker). The Braves had a clear issue, but Schuerholz still tried to make a good offense a great one, dealing Andrus with a cadre of excellent prospects for Mark Teixeira.

Atlanta would finish 28-27 over the final two months. Their offense was better (4.8 R/G to 5.5 R/G), but their pitching staff was just as awful (4.5 R/G). Some of Atlanta's problems after the move was just bad luck (they had a better pythW-L% with Teix than before), but the trade had done nothing to resolve their bigger issues.

For Andrus, the trade would benefit his offensive numbers. Playing in leagues easier to hit in, Andrus OPS'd .742 in 27 games with Bakersfield. After ascending to the Top 20 in Baseball America's mind, Andrus slashed .295/.350/.367 in his Age-19 season at AA. He added 54 steals as well. The next season, 2009, Andrus jumped from AA to the majors and finsihed second in the AL in the Rookie of the Year ballot.

The six years that followed have been pretty consistent. He has a .270/.331/.347 triple slash in the majors, though his numbers have declined over the last three years. He hits a few homers, gets 20+ steals, and has been a good defender (though not elite). His declining offensive numbers have led to pretty ugly WARs over the last couple of seasons, though. Signed to an 8-year, $120M contract that runs through the 2022 season, Andrus is one of those few players that are overpaid by Fangraphs' standards. They have a formula for estimating how much in dollars a player is worth based on his WAR. While being paid $15M in 2015, Andrus was worth $12.5M according to that website.

Ultimately, Andrus has yet to become the superstar many felt he could be. When his defense was graded as excellent while his offense was close to league average (2011-13), he maxed out as a 4 WAR player. Now that both have come down, he's rapidly entered the overpaid baseball players club. Still just 27, Andrus could conceivably get back to his higher WAR totals, but the chances that he becomes the superstar people dreamed about him when he was a 17 year-old at Rome. He's just not that guy.

Still...would have loved to been able to trade him for a pitcher.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Bobby Smith
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Bobby Smith

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

I admit - some players are just easier to write about than others.

Rick Stewart | Getty

Such is the case with today's Random Former Prospect. Bob Smith was a few things during his career, but a player that stood out is far from it. Even his name is generic. According to Baseball-Reference, he's one of six Bob Smith's to play in the majors. One, the 1923-37 version, played for the Braves franchise when it was in Boston. The latest version could have joined that guy as a Brave...but much like my most recent Thursday Throwback, the 1997 expansion draft shifted things.

Born in 1974 in Oakland, Smith was an 11th round pick out of the 1992 draft by the Braves. Quick trivia question - who was the top player the Braves drafted and signed out of that draft? No, it wasn't Smith, but 46th rounder Darrell May. Even John Schuerholz had terrible drafts.

Being young for his level didn't stop Smith from progressing in the minors. He went to Macon in '93 and spent '94 in Durham. It was there that we started to see his numbers give way to an interesting prospect. He flashed just .266/.329/.406, but added 12 homers and 18 steals. When 20 year-olds hold their own in the Carolina League, you take notice. With eyes on him, 1995 was supposed to be Smith's breakout campaign. He hit his way to a .261/.331/.430 slash with Greenville while hitting 14 homers and swiping 12 bases. His defensive numbers at third base seemed to improve as well.

Hey, listen, it wasn't a great year. Still, Baseball America ranked him #75 in the Top 100 before the 1996 season. Higher than Chris Carpenter, Miguel Tejada, and Josh Booty. Yes, I just wanted to throw that last one in there. The Braves system dominated the 1996 list - which may have helped Smith as prospects in the Braves system were often overvalued. Joining Smith in the Top 100 were Andruw Jones (#1), Jason Schmidt (#11), Jermaine Dye (#30), Terrell Wade (#64), and Damon Hollins (#95). I was too young to get much interest out of prospects, but I can imagine the excitement I would have felt heading into 1996 with a title from the previous year and 3 of the Top 30 prospects on their way, including the #1 prospect in all of baseball.

For Smith, who reached AAA less than five years after being drafted out of high school, the 1996 season could have been a big year. The Braves were shifting him at least part-time to shortstop to increase his potential value. Meanwhile, he was just an injury away from the bigs. But...he wasn't able to follow up his big '95 season. His OPS tumbled 80 points and his strikeout rate trended the wrong way. His prospect status also trended the wrong way - straight out of BA's Top 100. With little room in the majors, Smith was given a return ticket to Richmond for 1997 and his numbers rebounded some, but still lagged behind his Greenville numbers from two years before.

In the 1997 expansion draft, the Braves seemed poise to lose talent like they had in 1992 when the Rockies pilfered David Nied, Vinny Castilla, and Armando Reynoso. The raiding began with the 12th pick as the Devil Rays selected Smith. The sixth pick of the second round (John LeRoy) and the 4th pick of the third round (Wade) also saw former Braves headed to Tampa Bay.

The move would be instrumental to Smith's career. He made the Rays' first roster in 1998 in a reserve role and singled off Bryce Florie in his first at-bat on opening day. Smith would go on to share time with Wade Boggs at third base and fill in at second and short. The rookie hit a respectable .276/.343/.422 with 11 HR. He played in 117 games that year. Over the next four years, he would play in just 141 games with a triple slash of .197/.258/.298. It was almost sad. He would blitz the International League after each demotion, but never was able to transfer that success into major league success. 4 years and a month into his reign with the Rays, he was released. The Brewers picked him up for the rest of 2002 and he struggled for their AAA team.

Stops with the AAA's teams of the Yankees, White Sox, A's, and White Sox again did little but help him increase his AAA lifetime numbers. He never appeared in another game in the majors after May 6, 2002. He retired after 2006 and according to his wikipedia page, has transitioned into a hitting coach role with the Diamondbacks organization - who played their inaugural season in Smith's one big year in the majors.

Previous Random Former Prospects...
Bubba Nelson
Neftali Feliz
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon

Random Former Prospect Sunday - Bubba Nelson

During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.

Unlike most on this list, Bubba Nelson never made it to the majors. For that matter, he was never able to solve the mystery of getting out AAA batters. It was a quick fall for a guy who was on the cusp of appearing in the majors before being traded away.

2004 | Rick Stewart | Getty

Born Kenneth Daniel Nelson in late August of 1981, Nelson became the pride of Price George County in Maryland as he rocketed up the draft charts in preparation for the 2000 draft. Atlanta had already selected four players because of losing free agents under the old compensation system and had added Adam Wainwright, Scott Thorman, Kelly Johnson, and shortstop Aaron Herr to their cadre of players. They would select six more future major leaguers, including Adam LaRoche, in a pretty successful draft. Nelson was their first of two second round picks by way of the Brewers, who had signed shortstop Jose Hernandez. Selected with the #51st overall pick, Nelson was part of what has turned out to be a pretty ugly second round. Chad Qualls, picked #67 by the Astros, has had the most distinguished career of this group.

Nelson spent the first two years of his career showing a big strikeout arm, but one that got beat around from time-to-time. Part of that may have been due to his age. In 2002, things clicked for Nelson and though he missed a little time, he dominated the Carolina League for Myrtle Beach. In 23 starts, his strikeout numbers fell from noteworthy to simply impressive, but he gave up fewer homers and had a 1.72 ERA. Baseball America took notice and ranked Nelson as the #58th overall prospect heading into 2003. He was one of six Braves in the Top 100, led by Wainwright's selection as the #18th best prospect.

Nelson answered the call in 2003 with another good year - this time with Greenville. Playing nearly three years younger than the competition, Nelson had a 3.18 ERA in 23 games, including 20 starts. Again, his strikeout numbers tumbled and his WHIP trended north to 1.27, but there was enough here to get a bit excited about. At least, Atlanta thought so and promoted him to Richmond with a new assignment - the bullpen. Atlanta was looking for help to give John Smoltz some decent middle relief. Trey Hodges, Roberto Hernandez, and Kevin Gryboski were all struggling so the Braves considered Nelson as a possibility. He appeared in 11 games for the R-Braves to mixed success (1.88 ERA, 4.4 K/9), but ultimately wasn't called up after the Braves stabilized the pen with additions like Will Cunnane, Kent Mercker, and the revived Jaret Wright.

Those bullpen issues, though, would lead to a trade the next spring. The Braves had already cashed in Wainwright in a deal with the Cards in the offseason and were gearing up for a big 2004 campaign. Nelson, then ranked #75 by Baseball America, was part of the bullpen picture to join Smoltz, Gryboski, and new addition Antonio Alfonseca. However, the Braves didn't see what they wanted to see out of other guys like C.J. Nitkowski and sought to bring stability to what was a big issue for them the previous year. At the end of spring training, they packaged Nelson along with another bullpen hopeful, Jung Bong, in a deal with the Reds to acquire Chris Reitsma.

Nelson potentially could have become a key component for a team that hadn't finished above .500 in three years. With a rotation filled with the likes of Paul Wilson, Aaron Harang, Jose Acevedo, and Brandon Claussen, it was a good situation for Nelson to quickly ascend into the major league picture. Except that things blew up spectacularly for him. In 12 starts with Louisville, he had a 7.09 ERA. A demotion to Chattanooga brought some relief, but he didn't look like the same guy who dominated the Carolina League only two years before. The Reds moved him to the bullpen in 2005, looking to take advantage of his heavy fastball and slider combination. In another year in AA with Chatanooga, Nelson recaptured some of the shine, but only some. The season began under a dark cloud after some personal problems in March, but it didn't stop Nelson from rebounding to strike out over a batter an inning, something he had not done since 2001. He secured 12 of his professional 16 saves. He still gave up too many homers and baserunners, but it was something positive. They even sent him to the Arizona Fall League for more exposure, but he struggled there in 13 innings. A few months later, the Reds DFA'd Nelson and after a mediocre spring, released Nelson among their last cuts of the spring.

Nelson hooked on with the Padres and he spent 2006 back in AA mostly in middle relief. Many of the same issues from the previous year plagued him and he wasn't kept for the following season. Signing with the Phillies, he pitched extremely well for Reading and was promoted for to AAA for the first time in three years, but flamed out there. In 2008, with the Jays organization, he appeared in just 12 games with a 9.50 ERA. The following year, his last in baseball, was an unimpressive 15-game run with Pensacola of the independent American Association.

However, when baseball doesn't work out so well for you, it's not the end of the world. Since hanging up his spikes, Nelson has found a way to spend less time away from his family by returning to school and becoming a teacher. For an article detailing how he - and his wife - became teachers in Alabama, click here.