The Braves were always going to face a big prospect decision this season. The imbalanced economics of the game compelled them to follow through with the charade of sending Ronald Acuña to the minors for a few weeks. That wasn’t much of a decision, but the careful timing of his eventual promotion was. It was a decision they knew they’d eventually face, likely going all the way back to last November.
One week or so from now, they’ll likely be staring down another decision with a big prospect. This one, however, they didn’t necessarily think they’d have to make at all, let alone this early in the season.