The Atlanta Braves have been better than expected in 2017, but are still likely sellers at the MLB trade deadline.

Rebuilds take time, and though the Atlanta Braves still have a little way to go on theirs, the light is clearly visible at the end of the tunnel.

The Braves opened Sun Trust Park in the Atlanta suburbs this season. In preparation, highly active general manager John Coppolella, who along with John Hart orchestrated the roster tear down and rebuild over the past few seasons, outfitted the club with enough veteran players to make it competitive in the ballpark’s inaugural season.

Coppolella added Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Brandon Phillips, Jaime Garcia and Kurt Suzuki over the winter, hoping to show progress in terms of wins and losses, while also biding time for baseball’s best farm system to mature at the minor league level. The Braves strolled to an 11-20 start through May 10, and then won five of six games before disaster struck.

First baseman Freddie Freeman, who had been arguably the best hitter in the National League to that point suffered a fractured wrist that was expected to sideline him until late July. Simply put, the worst thing that could have happened, happened.

But Coppolella struck quickly to trade for Matt Adams from St. Louis. Adams has been outstanding, Freeman returned quicker than expected – and, plot twist – as a third baseman. Also, Atlanta somehow played well enough to enter the All-Star break 42-45 in second place in the National League East.

Making a run at the postseason isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility, but the Braves are 9.5 games out of first place and eight games back in the Wild Card race. Therefore, as we look ahead to the MLB trade deadline, Atlanta is likely to be active sellers, hoping to flip some of those veterans to clear room for the blossoming talent waiting patiently at Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi.

Needs

Corner Outfield

As with many of the Braves long-term needs, most will be met by talented prospects. Ronald Acuna will eventually replace either Matt Kemp or Nick Markakis on one side of center fielder Ender Inciarte, though it may not be until 2018. At that point, it’s possible the Braves will have parted with both of their current outfielders, though Kemp is the more likely to stay (and should stay) given his production at the plate. Either way, with Kemp 32 and Markakis 33, both are likely in the tail end of their primes.

Closer of the future

Closers are typically made, not born – except for Craig Kimbrel. The Braves had Kimbrel, and let him go in order to rid themselves of the-player-formerly-known-as-B.J. Upton’s contract a few years ago. The Kimbrel deal has been one of the hardest (of many, many) trades for the Atlanta fanbase to get over since the rebuild began despite the common knowledge rebuilding clubs shouldn’t invest too much in closers. The Braves also traded Shae Simmons, who reminded many fans of Kimbrel.

Current closer Jim Johnson is 34 years old, and though Jose Ramirez, Arodys Vizcaino and Mauricio Cabrera are all hard throwers with closer potential (particularly Vizcaino, who has 21 career saves), it’s unclear if any of the tree is the answer long term. There may be a current starting pitching prospect in the minors would could be made into the next great Braves closer, but adding a potential relief ace is something to watch for as the team navigates the trade market.

Catching depth

The Braves have a decent one-two catching duo in Tyler Flowers, who is having a very good year for the club as the primary backstop, and Kurt Suzuki, who has provided pop at the plate as a backup and has shown improvement behind the plate as well. However, Suzuki is on a one-year deal and Flowers is 31 years old. And, of all the talent in the Atlanta farm system, catcher is arguably the shallowest position.

Assets

Baseball Prospectus Organizational Talent Ranking: 1

MLB.com Top 100 Prospects: 9

MLB.com Top 10 Prospects

Ozzie Albies, 2B

Kevin Maitan, SS

Kolby Allard, LHP

Mike Soroka, RHP

Sean Newcomb, LHP

Ian Anderson, RHP

Ronald Acuna, OF

Max Fried, LHP

Luiz Gohara, LHP

Travis Demeritte, 2B

Nine Braves prospects are listed among MLB.com’s Top 100. Nine! Think of it this way: more than 3,000 players are in the minor leagues right now, and the Braves have nine of the what is considered the 100 most talented. That’s pretty special.

You can’t hit on every prospect, but there’s a pretty good chance when one farm system features nine of the very best prospects in baseball, the odds are pretty high that a few of them are going to work out.

Looking to the future, a few of those highly regarded prospects are knocking on the door of the big leagues. As a result, it’s time the Braves start clearing some room at the major league level for Albies, Allard and Soroka to make their major league debuts before the season ends, and for the 19-year-old Acuna to prepare to take over in 2018.

Truthfully, the players the Braves are looking to trade: veterans, most of whom are playing on one-year contracts or in the final year of their respective deals, won’t bring back ultra talented prospects. But, expect the Braves to try and clear room for the talent already in the system, and add a few depth pieces and low-to-mid level prospects along the way.