The Atlanta Braves went into the winter meetings with hopes of improving their offense, but all they left with was Bob Fish. It was actually pretty interesting for us hardcore baseball fans that the Braves selected someone in the Rule 5 draft. It has been many years since Atlanta has used a Rule 5 pick. Let's take a look at what some prospect evaluators had to say about the Braves selection, Robert Fish.

Here is what John Sickels had to say about Fish:

A sixth-round pick in 2006 from high school in California, Fish at age 23 posted a 3.26 ERA with a 41/18 K/BB and a 1.88 GO/AO in 30 innings this year for Double-A Arkansas. He had an unusual reverse platoon split: right-handers hit .161 against him, lefties .256. Fish can hit 94 MPH but his breaking ball and command are erratic, and his track record is very mixed. Scouts love his arm strength but he is more thrower than pitcher. He was also selected in the Rule 5 draft in 2010 by the Yankees but didn't stick.

Here is what Baseball America had so say about Fish:

One of two second-time Rule 5 picks, Fish has more upside than most Rule 5 picks because he has a plus fastball (92-94 mph) and a fringy breaking ball. Command has always been Fish's issue, as he has trouble repeating his delivery. Offered back to the Angels by the Yankees last year, Fish did throw more strikes in 2011.

These kinds of pitchers are all over the place and so many are boom or bust. Another pitcher like this who was mostly unimpressive until he was, is Jonny Venters. Before he was Everyday Jonny the All-Star setup man he was an unranked prospect who had been mostly forgotten after six season in the Atlanta minor league system. Venters came out of nowhere to dominate. I'm not saying we should start dubbing the new guy "Everyday Fish," but maybe, just maybe his talent is ready to be turned into production just as he arrives in the Majors, like Venters' was. That would be the best case scenario, obviously. More than likely he spends a couple of weeks with the Braves before getting shipped back to Anaheim.