It was no secret that the Atlanta Braves were going to move shortstop Andrelton Simmons, but his destination was a mystery until the trade was finalized.
The Los Angeles Angels swooped in at the last minute and dealt for Simmons. The Braves announced the trade Thursday night, per their Twitter account:
Erick Aybar brings 1,220 games of Major League Baseball experience, mainly in the infield. Sean Newcomb was widely regarded as the Angels’ top pitching prospect, and Chris Ellis isn’t far behind.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times said the Angels gave up “arguably their second-best prospect in Ellis, a right-hander.”
The 23-year-old former Ole Miss Rebels star was drafted by the Angels in the third round of the 2014 MLB draft after spurning the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected him in the 50th round of the 2011 draft.
In 28 starts spread out between rookie and A-ball, Ellis is 11-10 with a 4.67 ERA and one shutout. In three years at Ole Miss, he was 15-5 as a starter and reliever.
Before the season began, Taylor Blake Ward of Scout.com had this to say about the 6’4”, 220-pounder: “Ellis has a nice ceiling of being a mid-rotation starter, potentially being a No. 2 guy at his peak. His current ETA to the majors is 2018, when he’s 25 years old. All of this depends primarily on how and when he fixes his command and control problems.”
Ellis’ future in Atlanta could change his path, but MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez said he was told by a scout that Ellis’ prognosis in Los Angeles is not as high as a No. 2 starter:
Kyle Glaser of the Orange County Register wrote in September that the pitcher had been holding back to conserve energy. But it resulted in early trouble, and he was being pulled by the fifth inning. Once he made an effort to correct that, he became “nearly unhittable”:
A low- to mid-90s fastball and an impressive changeup are Ellis’ two main weapons, and his breaking pitches seemed to improve every start. He also held up physically in making 26 starts, no small feat for someone who was mostly a reliever in college and was in his first full season of pro ball. As long as Ellis continues his aggressive mentality and challenges hitters with his best stuff right away, the general consensus is Ellis has a future as a major league starter.
The Braves are stacking their farm system with pitching and trying to emulate the 2015 National League champion New York Mets, per Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan:
The Mets’ young staff carried them to the playoffs, and pitching was the formula the Braves used in the 1990s and early 2000s to carry them to 14 straight division championships.
No minor leaguer is a sure thing, and pitching prospects take time to develop. However, barring injuries, Ellis should be in the rotation for the Braves in the future.
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