Another Opinion on the McLouth Trade

Why not, I have a forum to utilize. Take my opinion as the same you would Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, etc., as I know as much as they do in regards to this trade and who won, nothing.

Braves Side:
So many Pirates fans are going to be up in arms over the loss of Nate McLouth, a "5-tool player" who was an All-Star last season. In looking at Nate's numbers from last season (,276-.356-.497, 26 HR's -94 RBI's, 23/26 SB's) he was an All-Star. You do have to remember that McLouth played half his games last season in a park designed for lefties (where he slugged 20 points better, I admittedly thought it would be higher). In the 2nd half last season, he hit .270-.355-.426. This season he is hitting .256-.349-.470 with 9 HR's and 34 RBI's and is 7-7 on steals. He was a gold glove defender last year, but I personally think Schafer is better defensively. McLouth gives the Braves a legitimate CF bat which they haven't had yet this year and they have him under control for awhile (I believe 3 years). If Schafer can figure things out, McLouth can move to an OF corner and maintain average production for the position.

Pirates Side:
Pittsburgh seems to value quantity over quality. In their big deal at the deadline last season, they seemed to focus on getting raw numbers back. In this deal, they picked up Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and, the main guy, Gorkys Hernandez. The Pirates really could have used picking up a potential ace (especially since the ace they picked up in the Bay deal, Bryan Morris, is not expected to start pitching until late June due to significantly restricted range of motion in his right shoulder), but teams are shying away from dealing their young pitching. The Pirates have appeared to focus on getting close to major league ready arms, take a flier on a guy in the low minors and get toolsy outfielders.

Morton did not impress me in his brief major league debut last season. The right hander has pitched very well at Gwinnett (AAA) however, going 7-2, 2.51 with 55 strikeouts and 16 walks. He is 6-4, 190, so he still has room to grow and his upside is that of a middle of the rotation (# 3 starter).

Locke was one of the pitchers I saw when I worked for Columbus last season and I wasn't that impressed. The hitters in high A haven't been impressed either, as Locke went 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA at Myrtle Beach, though he does have 43 strikeouts (against 26 walks) in 45 and 2/3 innings. I personally thought Locke was a fringe major leaguer, but I admit seeing him before I really focused on scouting guys.

Hernandez is the prize of this deal. Another 5 tool outfielder, he was hitting .316-.361-.387 at the time of the trade in AA Mississippi. He is very raw, as he is 10/18 on steals and has 15 walks against 54 strikeouts in 212 at bats. His lack of power has to be a little disturbing due to the other players the Pirates have coming up (more on that below), but he should be a major leaguer and that is as far as I can go on him, as I have never seen him play and am going off what I read.

Pittsburgh now has the potential to run out an OF of Andrew McCutchen (.303-.361-.493 at AAA prior to his call-up with 10 stolen bases), Hernandez and Jose Tabata (.250-.324-.297 at AA Altoona) in the next year and a half if all goes according to plans. All are fast, but all have question marks in regards to power. With the game shifting towards a speed based, defense oriented team, this looks like an outfield designed to save a lot of runs.