Nate McLouth to Save the Day

As an Atlanta Braves fan, I'm beside myself with joy today. It's been reported that all three moves are happening concurrently (and listed in the order of my excitement level):

1. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta's top-ranked pitching prospect and rated by Tim Dierkes of Baseball America as the fourth highest ranked prospect in the minor leagues, has been called up. He will replace Jorge Campillo, who is still dealing with a shoulder ailment, and Kris Medlen will move into the bullpen.

I'm not sure where to begin except to tell you that he is good. Really good. Kyle Boddy of Driveline Mechanics broke down Hanson's delivery, arm action and velocity quite well. He has one of the best fastball (below, left) and curve (below, right) in the minors. Both are considered to be plus pitches. He will be making many Major Leaguers look silly (see below, notice the unbelievable hook action on his curve) very shortly. His first start will be this Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. I guarantee you that is a start I will not miss.



2. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, McLouth has been traded to the Braves for Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez and Jeff Locke.

In my opinion, this is a phenomenal trade for the Braves who are power starved in the outfield. McLouth brings pop and speed to the table and will be inserted into the middle of the lineup right away. Charlie Morton is a major league-ready pitcher who's already had his cup of tea with Atlanta last season. He'll compete for the Bucs fifth starter spot immediately. Gorkys Hernandez, whom the Braves acquired in the deal that sent Edgar Renteria to Detroit for Jair Jurrjens and himself, is a nice OF prospect. His game is predicated on speed and defense (think Jacoby Ellsbury). The power, however, is limited and the Braves already have a dozen or so OFs with no pop. Finally, Jeff Locke is the most interesting of the group cause he has the highest ceiling. He a lefty who can really bring it and has the potential to be a legitimate no. 3 starter in the majors. I wish them all well. But I'm head over heels for this move.

3. Tom Glavine was released by the Braves as of this morning, citing poor velocity as the reason.

Ha... poor velocity. How about poor everything. While I don't mean to sound crass about a guy who will someday be in the Hall of Fame and brought the Braves a championship banner, his time is done. All he was doing was taking up space on a team loaded with pitching. He claims that he won't seek retirement but it'd be for the best. A two week pre-season shoulder issue turned into two months and the last thing the Braves needed was for an aging soft-tosser to take up payroll and hold Hanson back. Otherwise, I'm proud of Glavine and all that he's accomplished in the sport. He's a first ballot HoF'er.

Happy Days are here again in Atlanta!