A few links now that pitchers and catchers report in six days.
↵Jayson Stark of ESPN.com does his NL East offseason grades. The Braves received a B, as did the Marlins. The Phillies received a B+. The Mets and Nationals were in the C's.
↵I agree with the Phillies and Braves marks, but I can't say I agree with the Marlins at a straight B. The Dan Uggla trade and John Buck signing should bring it down much more, and the bullpen additions don't make up for that. I agree that the Nationals should be in the C's after the Jayson Werth signing and how they handled Adam Dunn's departure, along with the departure of Josh Willingham. The Mets shouldn't even receive a grade due to their situation. They're playing the waiting game with terrible contracts.
↵Charles Odum of the AP does a little piece on Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters. These two are getting plenty attention this offseason, more than I thought they would. But having two young relievers taking the late innings like this is pretty exciting stuff. Odum might want to check his spelling, though.
↵It's a pretty big day when Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus does his Top 11 Braves Prospects. Aside from little details in a couple of the reports, it's a solid, though unusual list. Right away you notice Mike Minor at third, which is rare. He has both Arodys Vizcaino and Craig Kimbrel ahead of Randall Delgado, which I can't agree with, especially Kimbrel. The bottom five are pretty much in line with the crowd.
↵It's rare to see a prospect list this high on Kimbrel. His stuff ranks high, but control concerns as a reliever hold him back on most lists. Delgado continues to receive zero love outside the Braves bloggers.
↵Hey, I like to complain. This is definitely a go-to source for Braves prospects. Good stuff.