A half of dozen starting pitching prospects in the Braves system are close to being big-league ready, according to general manager John Coppolella.
Speaking on Saturday at FanFest at Turner Field, Coppolella pointed to Tyrell Jenkins, Aaron Blair, Chris Ellis, Lucas Sims, Sean Newcomb and John Gant as potential future starters.
“Those six starting pitchers are really close,” Coppolella said. “Do you want to sign somebody for one year, two years or three years and block those guys?”
Jenkins, 23-year-old, 6-4 right-hander, was acquired from the St. Cardinals in a 2014 deal that also brought Shelby Miller to Atlanta. The Braves sent Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks in December in exchange for Blair, center fielder Ender Inciarte and shortstop Dansby Swanson, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft.
Blair, Ellis and Gant are towering right-handers, each listed at 6-5. The Braves acquired Gant from the Mets in the summer. He went 10-5 in the minors last season, with 134 strikeouts in 140.1 innings.
Ellis and Newcomb were acquired in the trade that sent shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels in November. Newcomb is the only left-hander among the bunch.
Sims, a 21-year-old right-hander who played at Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, was Baseball America’s top prospect at the end of 2014, but went through a tough start to last season in the minor leagues. As a member of the Carolina Mudcats, the Braves’ advanced Single-A team, Sims was injured when the team bus crashed and flipped onto its side. Sims had a six-week stint on the disabled list from injuries sustained in the crash, but did come back strong and pitched well in the Arizona Fall League.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday that, other than Julio Teheran and likely Bud Norris, the starting rotation is wide open.
