ATL All Day
Fansided

Atlanta Braves: Comparing Rebuild to the Cubs’

By John Buhler

facebooktwitterreddit

As I was watching last night’s game between the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs, I started to mentally compare and contrast how the two oldest teams in the National League are going about their respective rebuilds.  While both organizations are pretty much in the middle of the pack in the NL, Chicago being towards the top and Atlanta being on the lower end of the spectrum, it was very interesting to see how Cubs GM Theo Epstein and Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart are going about building winning ball clubs.

-= Related: Fredi Gonzalez: Atlanta Braves’ Manager Receives 1 Year Extension =-

For the last four or five years, the Chicago Cubs flat out stunk, perpetually in the cellar of the NL Central.  You could start to sense the inevitable slide around 2009-10 when SP Carlos Zambrano‘s on-field antics began overshadowing his abilities as an All-Star ace for the Cubbies.  Combine that with the IF Alfonso Soriano albatross of a contract and former All-Star Closer Carlos Marmol‘s complete ineffectiveness in the ninth inning.

Jun 25, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler (37) throws to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs were consistently one of the worst three teams in the NL the last few seasons and opted to build through the draft with great position player prospects (Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber, among others).  Their GM Theo Epstein ended an 86-year World Series title drought when he was running the Boston Red Sox.  Ending the Cubs’ 100+ year skid seemed like the next great challenge for the prodigy General Manager.

So much has changed for the Atlanta Braves since Ted Turner sold the team over 15 years ago.  Being owned by a corporation isn’t ideal as the Atlanta Braves’ payroll hasn’t been a Top 10 one for some time.  So Atlanta has to get a little creative when its top stars leave Atlanta via free agency for money.  That’s the nature of the beast.

Yes, the Atlanta Braves would occasionally field a team that got Braves Country excited sense Turner’s abdication (2003, 2005, 2010, 2012-13).  But Atlanta has not been as consistent or really a World Series contending team since 2001.  The Atlanta Braves have not advanced in a postseason round since 2001.  This organization has not played in an NLCS since losing to the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks after making it to 10 (10!) consecutive Pennant Clinch Series.

John Hart came in as an advisor in 2014 to essentially oversee what Frank Wren was doing as GM for Team President John Schuerholz.  Bad contract after bad contract and a rapidly depleting farm system forced Schuerholz to fire Wren and promote Hart this past winter.  Since that very awkward press conference in October, the Atlanta Braves have been an accelerated rebuild while simultaneously playing exciting baseball.

Rather than bottoming out like the Cubs, the Braves are hovering around .500 with a low-power, high-contact lineup and a pitching staff with a future so bright, we got to wear shades.  Hart has made so many moves with other teams in baseball to acquire top-tier pitching prospects, I’m starting wonder how he’s getting away with it.  Since he took over the roster construction for the Atlanta Braves organization, the team now has Shelby Miller, Matt Wisler, Manny Banuelos, Mike Foltynewicz, Max Fried, Touki Toussaint, and Tyrell Jenkins.  Wow!

More from ATL All Day

This stockpiling of top-tier pitching talent should have the other 29 organizations envious of the Atlanta Braves blinding bright future.  As opposed to put his star pitching prospects out of the frying pan and into the fire like the Cubs are doing with their position players, Hart is picking and choosing which young arm gets his taste of Big League action.  Foltynewicz has had several learning opportunities in the Majors as both a starter and reliever as the Braves to try to figure out where he fits into the team’s future roster construction.

As I watched last night’s contest between the Braves and Cubbies, it seemed that Chicago is very much trying to go worst to first in 2015.  Epstein brought in arguably the best Manager in baseball in the eccentric Joe Maddon from Tampa to hopefully get the Cubs over the top and into playoff contention this year.  At 47-41 and given Chicago’s dismal play the last four or five years, I’d say it’s working out alright for Maddon’s club.

Jul 2, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Manny Banuelos (60) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

But you still see youth and inexperience getting the best of some of the Cubs’ young prospects.  Likely Rookie of the Year Award Winner 3B Kris Bryant struggles with low and outside sliders more than our own Chris Johnson.  Smart control pitchers like Julio Teheran will continue to exploit Bryant’s inefficiencies down and away as the young Bryant can’t help but chase tailing fastballs and hard-biting sliders.

Chicago Cubs Catcher Kyle Schwarber is the best pure hitter I’ve seen come up through the Minors in years.  Though he went 3-4 last night, he didn’t look comfortable behind the plate blocking or receiving the baseball.  Though Kyle Hendricks pitched well for Chicago last night, I felt that Schwarber couldn’t get on the same wavelength with any of his staff.  He is still very much a work in progress on defense for Chicago.

Jorge Soler delivered a clutch two-out, two-RBI single off Julio Teheran early in last night’s game.  And then he ran himself out at second base.  I could feel Joe Maddon’s frustration through the TV screen.  Soler was a Top 25 Prospect in all of baseball but his base running blunder cost the Cubs the game.

Addison Russell is the prized piece that Chicago got from the Oakland A’s last trade deadline for SP Jeff Samardzija.  Russell was a Top 10 Prospect last season but is struggling to hit at the Major League level.  He entered Friday night’s game with a .225 batting average.

More from Atlanta Braves

Essentially the Atlanta Braves are stockpiling young arm talent and gradually integrating them into the pitching staff, learning who has staying power and who does not.  Chicago loaded up on big bats and rushed many of them to the Big Leagues before they were ready, basically throwing them collectively into the fire and hoping that they all click simultaneously.  In theory, both the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs will be serious World Series contenders between 2017-20 and would actually make for great trade partners in both the short and long terms.

Chicago could use a bullpen or rotational piece from Atlanta, while the Braves certainly need young bats in their pitching-centric farm system.  While neither organization is ripe enough to contend with the likes of St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the Braves and the Cubs are very much getting there soon.  With Hart preaching contention in 2017, look for the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs to play in at least one NLCS against each other before 2022.  These two teams are on the verge of being very good for a long time.

Next: Atlanta Braves' End Skid on Perez's Single, Beat Cubs 4-2

More from ATL All Day

Home/Atlanta Braves