In 2005, both Frank Wren and Dayton Moore were Assistant GMs for the Atlanta Braves under John Schuerholz. Moore was the head player development and scouting and Wren was someone with long reaching experience in MLB front offices. (He was briefly the GM of the Orioles when Pat Gillick left once he saw a better opportunity and could clearly see the Orioles were a sinking ship. Wren was the fall guy and was fired after one year.) I imagine a scout heavy organization like the Braves gave strong consideration to Moore as an heir apparent, so there must have been something of a rivalry between the two. But Moore left to be the GM of the Royals. Moore strikes me as the guy who embodies the "peter principle" and should remain the an adept head of scouting instead of a general manager. Luckily, the Atlanta Braves are run by Frank Wren and we'll be able to see Jason Heyward, BJ and Justin Upton in the outfield for a minimum of three years.

It's an exciting time to have the 25 and under talent of Heyward, Freeman, Justin Upton, Andrelton (anybody else excited to watch him play shortstop all year?), Minor, Kimbrel, and Julio Teheran. What makes this all the more impressive is the current ownership of the team obviously treats it as a tax shelter. Liberty Media makes sure there are no outstanding debts, which decreases the ability to make long term investments. They also took a laughably below market TV contract from FOX just to ensure income on the books for the next two decades.

Don't worry about a lackluster farm system that is ranked only 20th by ESPN. Just two years ago it was ranked 3rd. With a limited budget, resources have been moved more from the farm leagues to the big leagues. After a 90 loss season a few years ago, this team is a legitimate powerhouse in the NL. Wren and company have been conservative in the last couple of drafts, even going for some local guys to lower the signing costs. currently, this team is built for now.

After years of careful planning, the Braves arguably have the best outfield and the best bullpen in baseball. They also had the best defense last year, and I still expect it to be elite this year. This will be a deep, versatile lineup without any major holes and a starting rotation mix of experience/youth righty/lefty and a great AAA rotation insurance only a taxi cab ride away.

Building a baseball team with unlimited resources is hard enough. (It'll be interesting to see how The Yankees fare this season, haha). Frank Wren has turned a mid-market club with a corporate owner into a powerhouse. Thanks, Frank!