6:59pm: Texas has announced the deal.
6:11pm: The Rangers and Braves have agreed to a trade that will send lefty Brady Feigl and righty Tyrell Jenkins to the Rangers, according to reports from Tommy Stokke of Fan Rag (via Twitter) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Righty Luke Jackson is heading to Atlanta, Law adds on Twitter.
It seems fair to characterize this as something of a change-of-scenery swap involving two similarly situated young righties. The 25-year-old Jackson and 24-year-old Jenkins each drew a fair amount of attention as prospects and reached the majors only recently. In both cases, limited exposure to the big leagues has led to questions as to whether (and in what role) they can stick.
Taken with the 45th overall selection in the 2010 draft, Jackson brings a big arm to the table but hasn’t yet found his bearings at the game’s highest level. Over 18 MLB innings in the last two years, he has allowed 17 earned runs on 27 hits and ten walks, while retiring just nine batters via strikeout.
Though he has shown swing-and-miss stuff at all levels of the minors, and delivers a mid-to-upper-nineties fastball, Jackson has also long struggled with control. He has walked 4.6 batters per nine in his minor-league career, and a full-time shift to the pen hasn’t really helped much. In his 46 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, Jackson issued 32 free passes, though he also racked up 59 strikeouts.
For Jenkins, who joined the Atlanta organization as a part of the Jason Heyward-Shelby Miller swap, the results have been good in the upper minors over the last two years. But that has come in spite of a lack of strikeouts and uninspiring peripherals. Last year, for instance, he struck out 5.9 and walked 3.8 batters per nine over 83 2/3 Triple-A innings. He did end with a 2.47 ERA, though, in large part because he limited opposing hitters to just three home runs.
The dinger suppression did not continue when Jenkins hit the majors. He was touched for 11 long balls in his first 52 MLB frames. Over eight starts and six relief appearances in 2016, Jenkins worked to a 5.88 ERA while allowing 33 walks and striking out only 26 hitters.
There’s another piece being chipped in by the Braves, in the form of the 25-year-old Feigl. An undrafted product of Mount Saint Mary’s University, Feigl has been limited to 72 1/3 professional innings — mostly in the lower minors — as he fought through Tommy John surgery. He has shown well when healthy, though, posting a 2.74 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
bravesfan 7
What the hell
NL_East_Rivalry
Well now, let’s see what’s coming back
Gogerty
Whoa, interesting to see what is coming back.
00944
Oh god
angelsfan22
Who?
Ezlove
Hell yes
monroekfv
Awh man. I really liked Tyrell. Interested to see what comes back. Presumably a bat.
TheChanceyColborn
Nope just a middle reliever
TradeAcuna
I was just mindlessly refreshing and then saw the headline..
My thoughts: “WTF just happened”
CowboysRangers4
Can a braves fan tell me who these guys are real quick?
Gogerty
Jenkins came to Atlanta in the Shelby Miller-Heyward trade with Cardinals.
CowboysRangers4
I can tell y’all that Luke Jackson is a reliever that really never lived up to the hype. Never even got close
Gogerty
So a trade that on surface is just shuttling players around for scenery and hope.
RunDMC
Bingo – both Jackson and Jenkins are 2010 1st rd picks that haven’t lived up to the hype, Jenkins has had more success at the ML level, which isn’t saying much, but Jackson’s arsenal looks like it has more limited upside, possibly becoming a hard-throwing bullpen piece with some work on location.
Not sure why a piece like Fiegl was included as he looks decent. I don’t think Jackson is good enough to merit Jenkins and Feigl alone.
Gogerty
Well that is why Coppy gets paid the big bucks and we are here commenting.
petfoodfella
I don’t think Jenkins really had a spot in the future. Maybe if he moved to RP, but I don’t see him starting anytime soon.
RunDMC
Agreed – and Jackson looks like he has the greater upside, if RPs are all things considered. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jenkins have the ability to move positions with his athleticism.
raykraft88
Jenkins is still only 24, decent prospect probably was as high as ten on the Braves MLB list before they got Swanson, Blair etc. He had a rough year and doesn’t have exciting stuff. Most likely destined for the bullpen, because on top of the low k rate, he walks too many.
Gogerty
Same time the kid we got is only 25, sure this can be a push or win win.
steelerbravenation
Have no idea who is coming back. Had high hopes for Jenkins as a bullpen arm.
Kholla
Brett Nicholas is my bet. Left handed catcher.
Michael Macaulay-Birks
Profar? LOL
MGC1987
Umm ok. I guess
southi
Probably can’t be too much coming back to the Braves. Jenkins doesn’t have swing and miss stuff and IF I’m not mistaken Feigl missed a ton of time.
Phillies2017
I guess this is payback for the Harrell/Alvarez trade
phillies012tg
Huh?
Bigwold
I wonder what kind of value that he could bring back
gmflores27
Braves stocking up on jacksons
baseball0021
I heard Edwin was available
matthewalan09
anybody know anything about Luke Jackson?
RunDMC
2010 1st rd pick (TEX) that throws 95-97 mph as his best pitch with his offspeed pitches improving as he’s getting better locating the ball. He could be a late-bloomer, but has closer written all over him (2-3 pitches, fastball being his best).
matthewalan09
15th ranked prospect in TEX organization
asuchrisc
Watched this guy a ton at AAA. How he is still ranked #15 baffles me. He has the ability, but hasn’t put it all together. Not sure if he will.
RunDMC
Let Dom Chiti and Dave Wallace give Jackson a go. They were credited with getting Zach Britton back on track — now, here’s their pet project.
RunDMC
Another hard-throwing power arm in bullpen – former 1st rd pick (2010) – that could make it as a starter if someone teaches him control.. Sounds like half the pitching squad.
LaFlamaBlanca
How do you teach “control”? please I would like to hear your take on this.
Travis’ Wood
There are ways. You can tell them to throw a bit slower, focus on location, change the grip, changing arm slot…
RunDMC
Maybe “control” is the wrong word as much as teaching a thrower how to pitch. Dom Chiti and Dave Wallace did as much with first rd selection Zach Britton, turning him into one of the game’s most dominant relievers. Sure, different people, but let’s see if the change of scenery and new methods rubs off.
chesteraarthur
so every pitcher who sucks will go to pitt and learn to be awesome, by your logic.
RunDMC
so every pitcher is as good as he’ll ever be on day 1 and will not progress beyond a certain state of production, by your logic
petfoodfella
Lots of ways.
You don’t just roll out of your Mother w/ great control. It’s something that is worked on with repetitions.
chesteraarthur
Lot’s of ways? Please, please explain, with details.
Yeah, you don’t just learn it. It’s usually from mechanical adjustments that allow a more consistent delivery. But you braves fans just seem to think that every pitching prospect who can’t throw strikes is gonna be a star, so I’m wasting my time.
RunDMC
Every intelligent argument always includes “you Braves fans”. We’re just hypothesizing the mindset behind a rare prospect-for-prospect deal. There are projects that figure it out later than some. Yes, we’re speaking in general terms and you can make a case for flame-outs just like you can for late bloomers, but this is a low risk trade that won’t surface down the road, if ever. Coppy has good record of listening to his scouting department and identifying guys that can be obtained and flipped for more. It’s late and I don’t want to list them because you don’t care to read more than you have to, so just trust me on that. No one thinks he’s going to be a star, but if you get anything out of him, it’ll be a productive trade considering Tyrell didn’t have much of a future in ATL with the depth of the starters and not being a strikeout pitcher if he remained in the ‘pen. Call it front office philosophy, but Coppy already made out like a bandit in the trade Jenkins was acquired in, so anything else is gold.
petfoodfella
Stand 3′ from a circle on the wall and learn to hit it w/ a ping pong ball.
Stand 20′ from a circle on the wall and play tic-tac-toe w/ a tennis ball
There are countless ways to “learn” better control.
You idiots… well, are idiots.
braves fan 138
Haha what’s funny is all the prospects that could not find control in early in 2016 such as newcomb and Touki, all of sudden found it and it shows in their end of the year stats where newcomb and Touki were basically lights out, but hey according to Chester here control cannot be learned LOL. Dumbest comment I have ever heard on MLBTR. Hey Chester you know what’s something you cannot learn is throwing a baseball 95-97 mph like Jackson. LOL
lilkube
Jenkins was kinda a bust for ATL. So nothing shocking here.
bkfansler2
Wtf?
bkfansler2
Jackson? Who is he? Never heard of him?
matthewalan09
That’s because he is a prospect. 15th best in tex organization according to mlb.com
AidanVega123
Used to be one of the Rangers best starting pitching prospects but then stalled at Triple A I believe and has been used out of the bullpen for the past couple of years.
A'sfaninUK
a bust for two busts
TradeAcuna
“A 2010 supplemental first-rounder who signed for $1,545,000, Jackson spent the first four-plus years of his pro career trying to make it as a starter. Though he showed the ability to maintain quality stuff deep into game, his inability to throw consistent strikes led the Rangers to move him to the bullpen last May. Jackson still battled his control, but he pitched more effectively in Triple-A before making his big league debut in September.
Jackson already had a well-above-average fastball as a starter and kicked it up another notch in shorter stints, sitting at 95-97 mph with riding life. Now that he’s a reliever, he works almost primarily with his fastball and a hard overhand curveball. Jackson has some feel for a changeup and will still throw one on occasion.
Jackson has cleaned up his delivery over the years, though it still has effort that provides deception but hampers his ability to harness his pitches. He still has yet to master the ability to throw strikes or pound the bottom of the zone, and he could become a closer if he ever figures it out.”
– Jackson per MLB
bravesfan 7
Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
A 2010 supplemental first-rounder who signed for $1,545,000, Jackson spent the first four-plus years of his pro career trying to make it as a starter. Though he showed the ability to maintain quality stuff deep into game, his inability to throw consistent strikes led the Rangers to move him to the bullpen last May. Jackson still battled his control, but he pitched more effectively in Triple-A before making his big league debut in September.
Jackson already had a well-above-average fastball as a starter and kicked it up another notch in shorter stints, sitting at 95-97 mph with riding life. Now that he’s a reliever, he works almost primarily with his fastball and a hard overhand curveball. Jackson has some feel for a changeup and will still throw one on occasion.
Jackson has cleaned up his delivery over the years, though it still has effort that provides deception but hampers his ability to harness his pitches. He still has yet to master the ability to throw strikes or pound the bottom of the zone, and he could become a closer if he ever figures it out.
chophawk
Braves only getting Luke Jackson
rangerfan23
As a rangers fan, Jackson at best is a reliever. He was once a top starting pitcher, had setbacks and injuries. He has good stuff but could never catch on. Who are we getting for him?
matthewalan09
did u not read the title of this post?
Rob L. 2
We’ll trade you 2 one dollar scratch-offs for 1 two dollar scratch-off.
asuchrisc
Best comment I’ve seen all day.
kencaminiti
Sums it up perfectly
steelerbravenation
Change of scenery deal. Shuffling of bull pen arms. Guess Jackson has a chance with that power arm. Jenkins musta really fell out of favor.
RunDMC
I think that’s the biggest thing — Jenkins not in good-standing with organization. Won’t be good enough to be a starter or backend piece. Very athletic pitcher with limited appeal.
kaido24
For a second there I forgot Jenkins wasn’t with the Cardinals anymore and I thought they made a move finally… that thought went away quickly…
I wonder who they get in return.
kaido24
i didn’t read the title admittedly.
ffjsisk
Huh? I really liked Tyrell, he showed flashes and we kind of gave up a good player to get him. Seems logical or we’re selling low on a good arm.
ffjsisk
Seems like. Stupid autocorrect
steelerbravenation
One of the guys we gave up was Jordan Walden and we got him back so losing him doesn’t seem to be a big deal. 94-97mph is worth the minimal risk with a hope of hitting a jackpot
ffjsisk
I hope so. I think Tyrell would have thrived in the pen though.
UpUpnHeaHea
Once he quits worrying about his chewing gum and blowing bubbles on the mound and concentrate on what he is paid to do -pitch – maybe he will then develop !
petfoodfella
I thought he had some potential, but he wasn’t overly impressive in his limited innings. I would have thought they’d trade someone else first though.
Ugh, Blair – he needs to be the next to go.
ffjsisk
Can’t sell low on Blair, gotta give him a shot to regain that status a little
JKurk22
We better be getting something else besides Jackson. Jenkins may not be amazing, but he’s better than Jackson.
tobyharrah1977
Greedy much?
JKurk22
No, Jackson is a failed prospect though and like I said Jenkins may not be great, but he’s better than Jackson. I’d rather just stand put with Jenkins. I hate trading depth just for the sake of trading depth. Keep the depth unless you can get something meaningful in return. Jackson isn’t meaningful at this stage of his career.
steelerbravenation
Not familiar with Chuck Hernandez body of work as far as developing projects but I am sure Dave Wallace sees enough in that power arm that he will have something to work with. Throw it at the wall and see if it sticks. May be a diamond in the rough. Worked years ago with EOF under McDowell so anything is possible. Can’t have too many power arms for the bullpen.
JKurk22
Major differences between his transaction and what happened with EOF though. EOF wasn’t a prospect, having pitched in the major for couple years with the Mariners. More importantly though the Braves didn’t give up anyone for EOF. They claimed him off waivers. I just think Tyrell would be a better option in the bullpen than Jackson, who more than likely will never make it considering his control issues. I hope Dave can fix him, but I feel better about Tyrell’s chances of being good than I do Jackson.
CursedRangers
Interesting – I wonder who the Rangers traded
petfoodfella
literally in the thread title.
Connorsoxfan
It wasn’t at the time.
Connorsoxfan
Not familiar with either. Are they good?
stl_cards16 2
Fowler flying to STL for physical. Surprised it’s not posted here yet
kaido24
I wonder how much we are going to pay him, considering he wasn’t sure he wanted to play here.
stl_cards16 2
Neh. He was going to the highest bidder. I would guess they bumped the 4/60 offer a bit and got it done.
Not crazy about it. But after seeing some of the crazy trades, I’d much rather just sign him than mortgaging the future.
Captain10
Luke Jackson I hear has a real cool hand.
kayo
What we got here is a failure to communicate
BostonBraves72
Should have been a one on one trade!!
Or one and one with a Block of Cheese!
TradeAcuna
SO who is next in the long line of failed pitching prospects? Newcomb? Wisler? Blair? Probably all of them!
AddisonStreet
Probably all of them, yeah.
Geaux_Braves
Sheesh!
Somebody must really hate our farm depth.
We may have taken some risky prospects when we had our fire sale, but a lot of those guys still had some high upside. Newk being the highest.
Folty is looking to be the first of those guys to put it all together, while Newk could very well be the next. Wisler and Blair are very capable of making strides and possibly find a spot in the rotation as well. They’re more likely to not make it, but if they don’t, oh well. We will just send another group up, and hopefully they end up better since they are more talented.
Meanwhile, Fried and Touki were apart of a rotation that performed mightily given their age(the group as whole including them though).
Jenkins had already lost a lot of his luster before we got him from STL. If anything, he was more of a “why not see what we could fix” add in. I don’t think you can count him as one of our “failed pitching prospects” I will give you Manny Buenolos though, but that’s only like one so far, and even he was more of a Jenkins type situation.
chesteraarthur
stop overrating “folty”. He is a meh starter.
RunDMC
Whew…Debbie Downer. Considering all of them we inherited and only Newcombe was a key piece to a trade, we have the depth to anticipate a high failure rate. That being said, we’ve also worked tirelessly in bringing in the right development gurus along with scouts including Dom Chiti and Dave Wallace to be able to turn high ceilings into high production.
Newcombe had a nice 2nd half and is progressing in the control department. Baby steps considering his strikeout rates are still up there. That being said, Max Fried, Allard, Touissaint, Sanchez were one of the dominant rotations in A-ball ever. Their advance to AA and AAA should be must-watch TV for Braves fans. Wisler and Blair are simply projects. They could figure something out, but I wouldn’t consider them future rotation pieces considering some of the guys right behind them (Patrick Wiegel, Mike Soroka, etc.).
jochilz
Luke was mehhh, but has talent could just use a change of scenery and new coaching.
Hope Brocail can get Jenkins in and work with him, bringing him for competition is what it seems like. Well the Rangers have enough projects now
TDKnies 2
I get that a lot of these guys were on the lower end of the depth that the Braves acquired and can only fetch so much on the market, but these aren’t exactly the returns I had in mind when they talked about trading away some of that depth. Didn’t think we’d be trading the fringy guys for other, equally aged fringy guys. But hey, not like it’s hurting anything (probably).
Geaux_Braves
Essentially sold high on Povse to buy low on Jackson, who is a position player with high upside. Wouldn’t hurt to add a guy like that considering he may have just been used wrong, and rushed.
I think we got fair value for Gant and Ellis. They were probably headed to the BP, and Garcia could right the ship and either be apart of the team in the future or get us better value depending on how well he performs..
Backatitagain
Was hoping it was Julio Teheran going to Texas for Gallo, Profar and Nicholas.
RunDMC
You’re kidding, right? The luster has worn off on Gallo and Profar, and we still have not seent he best of Teheran. I’m not saying he warrants a Chris Sale-like bounty, but I’m saying that package wouldn’t best suit the Braves, especially knowing that we would have only 1 SP under 30 (Folty) – who also would be the only SP under control past 2017.
Backatitagain
Wisler, Blair, Biddle, Fried, Sims, Hursh, plus 11 more on the 40-man controlled through 2020 at least.
RunDMC
I meant that are currently in the rotation. The hope is that those will make the leap, but that’s not a certainty, especially from most of the names you mentioned including: Wisler, Blair, Biddle, Hursh. Fried & Sims have a good shot, with some seasoning. My point is that if you traded away Teheran, you literally are putting all your eggs in the basket that they’re going to form a formidable rotation that can compete vs. NL East teams headlined by Scherzer, Strasburg, Syndergaard, Harvey, Matz, etc.
Teheran needs to be our rock and he’ll be more useful to us than most of other teams, who wouldn’t value him as a #1 anyway, and definitely wouldn’t pay that (as well they shouldn’t – if Sale’s price is setting the market rate for TOTR starters).
Backatitagain
Thirteen pitcher plus others gone from last year so far. Tyrell Jenkins, Brady Feigl, Williams Perez, Brian Moran, Zachery Bird, Tyler Moore, Jordan Pacheco, Rob Wooten, Casey Kelly, Brandon Snyder, Reid Brignac, Daniel Castro, Chris Withrow, Christopher Ellis, John Gant, Luke Dykstra, Rob Whalen, Max Povse, and Ryan Weber.
RunDMC
I won’t shed a tear for anyone of them, but I’ll raise a glass to Max Povse.
braveschop20
I’m with you on this RunDMC. Liked Povse more by far than the rest for potental. Followed by Tyrell for personality.
acmeants
Opens a roster spot.
Backatitagain
How does it do that with Jackson going on or being waived.
braveschop20
Hard to get excited about this because Tyrell was such a great personality. Not a higely important piece (back end of the rotation guy?reliever for the Rangers fans asking) but he has 80 grade character and personality. Was a fan favorite for a lot of people in the ATL. Mostly I’m excited for Tyrell in this because he’s from Texas and actually gets to move home.
RunDMC
That is good for him, but I really hope he turns a corner. He’s going to more of a hitter-friendly confines. And to someone that had a problem with the longball and didn’t strike many out, he’ll need to turn the corner to continue pitching.
krillin
TBH, I am glad this happened. I will be rooting for Jenkins, but I think it was in his and the Braves’ interest to move him.
djstylee
I keep reading, not only from this article but from the comments, that this is a change-of-scenery trade. I don’t buy that. The Braves just got Jenkins 2 seasons ago and he made his way up to the majors last season. He has been very effective in Triple A and showed some good signs at the major league level. Anderson has been in the Rangers organization for 6 seasons and has stalled at the triple A level. Jenkins has yet to stall. Not to mention, the Braves added a good lefty, in Feigl, as well. This Anderson kid is supposed to have better stuff (apparently), but he has had 6 years to show he can put it together and he has not. This is a bad trade on the Braves part IMO. The Braves could have used Jenkins as a good trade chip in a bigger and better deal.
RunDMC
Jenkins had very little trade value after decent stuff, but no strikeouts, and giving up the longball. Not many would look to him being a starter in the future, and not being a strikeout reliever that gives up the longball doesn’t carry much value. Sure, a lot of optimism for him, but Jackson has proven he can strikeout folks and only has 11 IP in MLB. Jackson looks like an imposing late-inning reliever, especially if ATL can help him develop his offspeed stuff. He could be a future closer with his heater.
You could argue that Jenkins could have merited more, but I don’t think so. His stuff wasn’t that good in the minors, and we got value out of the trade to get him by getting Shelby Miller (Blair, Inciarte, Swanson). Feigl actually was traded from ATL to TEX, and could be an interesting lower-level prospect. There’s nothing wrong with Jenkins so much as ATL prefers power arms in the bullpen – for example: they just took CHC RP Armondo Rios who had crazy strikeout totals in the minors, and just purchased the contract from NYY RP Jacob Lindgren, also with great K totals but will be sidelined all of 2017 from TJ surgery.