The Braves hired Mike Fast, former Astros director of research and development, as a special assistant to the general manager.
“He’s an outstanding individual,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “He’s as genuine as you’re going to find. Beyond that, he’s bright, capable. He’ll be a big help for us.
“He’s going to help us and he’s got tons of experience now. He’s going to help us in all areas of baseball operations.”
Since joining Houston in 2012, Fast has been credited as one of the key analytical minds in the Astros’ rise to prominence. He led their analytics team and played a significant role in how that data translated to the field.
He also contributed to player evaluations and transactions in Houston. That will continue in Atlanta, Anthopoulos confirmed.
Fast spent 17 years as a semiconductor engineer. He wrote for Baseball Prospectus before joining general manager Jeff Luhnow’s staff in Houston. The team won the World Series in 2017.
It was unclear what prompted Fast’s departure from Astros, but it was universally considered a big loss for one of the deeper front offices in the sport.
In his interview, Fast and Anthopoulos clicked philosophically. The Braves saw it as an optimal fit, but they were aware he had a lot of interest from other clubs.
“We knew he was going to move on to a new team and we knew there was interest in him,” Anthopoulos said. “We were really pleased he chose to be a Brave.”
In the end, Fast called the Braves and informed them that was where he wanted to be. His hiring is a significant development as Anthopoulos reworks the organization with an analytical interest.
