In an effort to try and inject life into their stagnant offense, the Braves acquired outfielder Nate McLouth from the Pirates in exchange for prospects Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez.

The Braves acquired a speedy slugger who can bat anywhere in the top half of their order, and who they’ll have under contract for three or four more seasons.

McLouth joins a Braves outfield that was tied for last in the majors with 10 homers through Tuesday, and finished last with 27 homers in 2008. He almost single-handedly matched the Braves’ outfield total with his career-high 26 homers in 2008, when he hit .276.

He stole 23 bases in 26 attempts in 2008, and he has not been caught stealing this season.
The Braves paid a hefty price: Morton was 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts at Gwinnett, and Hernandez, 21, hit .316 with 11 doubles, two triples, 19 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 52 games at Class AA Mississippi.

Locke, 21, was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 starts for Class A Myrtle Beach.
It may seem like the Braves gave up a lot in this deal, but Hernandez might be the only real loss seeing as how Locke is struggling and Morton might not have cracked the starting rotation anytime soon.

McLouth is a solid hitter, can play center, is locked up cheap throughout the next couple of years and seeing as how he’s only owed $2 million this season, the Braves still have room to make another move or two.

As of now, it would appear that the Braves got the better end of this deal, which is no surprise considering their trade partner was the Pirates.

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Offseason Movement: In typical Pittsburgh fashion, the Bucs didn’t make much of a splash in free agency this year. They did sign infielder Ramon Vazquez, who is coming off a career year with the Rangers, but he’s more of a utility man than a regular. The Pirates also signed outfielder Eric Hinske, who could wind up starting in left field as long as his bruised left ribcage heals in time for Opening Day, but will more likely be the club’s fourth outfielder.

Top Prospect: Pedro Alvarez, 3B
The Pirates finally drafted the best player available in 2008 and bucked the trend of staying away from prospects that command big signing bonuses. Contract negotiations between the club and Alvarez didn’t go smoothly, but all of that can be put in the rearview mirror if breezes through the minors. He was a 2007 Baseball America First Team All-American and was also a Golden Spikes Award Finalist in ’07, as well. He has outstanding hitting ability and rarely chases pitches out of the strike zone. If he stays healthy, Alvarez could be a young superstar in the making.

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All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings

The great thing about addressing your outfielder positions on draft day is that there are so many to choose from that chances are if you don’t like one facet about a certain player (i.e. age, inexperience, he plays for the Red Sox and you’re a Yankees fan, etc.), you can move on to one of the many other choices available.

Conversely, with so many players to choose from, you’re liable to stick your head in an oven in order to avoid having to decide between which outfielders will explode and which will wind up on your league’s wavier wire after making you suffer for the first couple months of the season.

The nice thing about having so many choices for outfielders is that you can draft certain players to fill certain needs. As your roster starts to take shape on draft day, if you desire more power, then there are plenty of outfielders that can address that specific need. If your team is lacking speed, there are outfielders that you can target to rack up stolen bases. And if you were able to draft for both speed and power in previous rounds, then adding a couple outfielders that can hit for average will only help you in the long run.

That said, if you’re smart, you’ll pinpoint the outfielders that can do it all. Sure, they might not excel in any one area, but over the course of the season if you can land a guy that can spread out his production in home runs, RBIs, runs and average, it will do wonders for your team in the end. After all, balance is key in fantasy baseball and after you land your studs early on, you’re going to need to complete your roster with players that can produce in all areas.