The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Braves acquire power prospect
Looking to add right-handed power to their organization, the Braves traded for infield prospect Travis Demeritte (above) from the Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for pitchers Lucas Harrell and left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez. Demeritte, a 21-year-old former firstround draft pick from Winder, has 25 homers in 88 games in high-A ball.
Looking to add righthanded power to their organization, the Braves acquired infield prospect Travis Demeritte from the Texas Rangers on Wednesday for starting pitcher Lucas Harrell and left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez.
The Braves took two pitchers they got off the scrap heap earlier this season and used them to acquire Demeritte, a 21-year-old who was drafted in the first round by the Rangers in 2013. He has 25 homers in 88 games in high-A ball and started at second base for the U.S. in this month’s All-Star Futures Game in San Diego.
“First-rounder, local kid, so we’re fired up about it,” said Braves general manager John Coppolella, who finalized the deal Wednesday after Harrell’s six scoreless innings against the Twins on Tuesday night recharged the Rangers’ interest in the journeyman starter. “We have talked about trading pitching for hitting, and it’s a trade that does that.
“Obviously (Demeritte) is not here right now, but he’s a kid who’s moved pretty quickly. He’s 21 years old, he’s from (Georgia), he’s played very well — he actually started at second base opposite Dansby Swanson in the Futures Game. Twenty-five home runs: I don’t think anybody that’s in the Braves minor league system right now is anywhere close to that.”
From Winder-Barrow High School, Demeritte hit .272 with 25 home runs, a .352 OBP and .935 OPS in 88 games at advanced Single-A High Desert in the California League, with 41 walks and 125 strikeouts in 378 plate appearances.
He served an 80-game suspension last season for using performance-enhancing drugs. In his first full minor league season in 2014, he hit .211 with 25 homers and 171 strikeouts in 118 games for Single-A Hickory in the South Atlantic League.
Drafted as a shortstop, he’s played primarily second base and some third base in the minor leagues, and the Braves will probably use him at several positions, including left field.
“We will probably move him around a little bit and see where he fits best,” Coppolella said. “But we’ve got good depth at all those areas, so I wouldn’t pigeonhole him into one spot right now. Why we got him is, he’s got a lot of tools.”