Youth, served: Braves put wealth of talent on display at camp
ATLANTA -- The two biggest pieces the Braves acquired during their most recent replenishing of the farm system weren't in attendance, but the overall effect was still there.
More than 20 prospects sat at chairs in the Turner Field clubhouse, the likes of Ozhaino Albies, Max Fried, Austin Riley, Lucas Sims, Mike Soroka and Touki Toussaint, all of them in the organization's top 10 per one set of rankings or another.
Never mind that shortstop Dansby Swanson was unable to attend and left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb had a conflict that kept him away. Those at the Braves' first Winter Elite Development Camp showed the depths of what general manager John Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart have created.
"My hat's off to Coppy and John Hart," said Jonathan Schuerholz, assistant director of player development. "We're building with youth, we're building with high-upside talent, and we've got a ton of it."
During the past week, many of the players that have helped to turn this into arguably the game's best farm system were on hand, not to work on playing, but all that goes with being in the majors. They've gone through sessions with coaches and speakers concerning strength and conditioning, nutrition, finances and -- as they put on display Thursday -- dealing with the media.
"We've got a tremendous amount of responsibility in the minor leagues in our player development to produce major-league caliber players to win at a championship level," Schuerholz, the son of team president John, said. "That's what we want to harp on is we're not just building big leaguers, we're building championship-caliber big leaguers, and it's not done overnight.
"We have the rocks to shape them, now it's our job to polish them up and make them into fine big-league players."
The camp has also served another purpose. It's provided an opportunity for this collection of players -- so many of whom have been acquired over the flurry of trades that began last November -- to simply get acquainted.
"Being able to not only put names behind the faces, but also creating friendships here. It's been extremely beneficial," said Fried. The 21-year-old left-handed pitcher was part of last December's trade with the Padres that included Justin Upton.
Riley agreed. He's one of the few players in MLB.com's top 30 of Braves prospects who actually began his professional career with the organization, and the third baseman found a connection with a new face -- one that includes a rivalry that runs deep.
"We've only been here for a couple of days, but getting to hang around with a guy like (righty) Chris Ellis," the Southhaven, Miss., native said of the pitcher that was acquired from the Angels in last month's Andrelton Simmons deal. "He went to Ole Miss and I'm a (Mississippi) State fan ... Small world."
The Braves are attempting to make it that much smaller, bringing together players that they hope will be the core of a level of success they spawned the last time a collection of young talent was developed by their system.
"We are really excited about what's coming up the pike for us," Schuerholz said.
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