Fantasy Spin on Nate McLouth Trade

In case you haven't heard yet -- seriously, if you haven't, you need to read MLB FanHouse -- the Atlanta Braves have made a trade for center fielder Nate McLouth. McLouth emerged last season as a quality fantasy outfielder, hitting .276 with 26 home runs, 94 RBI, 113 runs, 23 stolen bases and a league-leading 46 doubles.

This season, he's down a bit in average and doubles, but chugging along elsewhere (.256-9-34-27-7-7). Obviously his move to a better situation -- and absence in the Pirates' new lineup -- sends reverberations throughout fantasy lineups across the roto world. Let us now check out what the move does to his value and to those also affected by the move.

McLouth

The Pirates offense hasn't been good, so taking McLouth out and putting him in a better situation has to help. Granted, the overall offensive numbers by the Braves aren't much better -- if at all -- than the Pirates this year, but McLouth wasn't surrounded by Chipper Jones and Brian McCann in Pittsburgh. We can expect a good-sized rise in batting average -- which was probably coming anyway, it's just more a sure thing now -- while the runs and RBI will get a small boost as well. Definitely hold onto him if you own him, and it's worth trying to inquire about a trade if you don't and need outfield help.

Andrew McCutchen

As a corresponding move, the Pirates promoted young prospect Andrew McCutchen from triple-A Indianapolis. It's a good bet they see what they have now with him, Brandon Moss and Nyjer Morgan in the outfield. Trading McLouth is pretty much a white flag for the 2009 season, so there's no reason to promote McCutchen and then have him ride pine.

We don't exactly know where he'll hit in the order, but the two-hole -- between Morgan and Freddy Sanchez -- would be a good fit.

McCutchen was hitting .303 with 4 homers, 20 RBI, 41 runs 10 doubles, a whopping 8 triples and 10 stolen bases in the minors. He's only 22, so there will likely be some growing pains. It's worth grabbing him in all keeper leagues, as the Pirates are stocking up a decent future lineup, but he's not worth picking up in anything but an NL-Only league (for steals) just yet.

Pirates' New Lineup

The big news here is what you saw above. We'll get to see McCutchen in action. Everything else is bad. Andy and Adam LaRoche will see less RBI chances, Morgan won't be scoring as many runs and Sanchez won't see near as many quality pitches to hit. Expect a downward trend in production for the entire lineup, though you likely weren't counting greatly on any offensive Pirates other than McLouth.

Braves' New Lineup

The Braves offense has been pretty lackluster this season, so adding McLouth to man center instead of Gregor Blanco or Jordan Schafer gives them an offensive jolt. The trickle down effect throughout the lineup will benefit everyone in the RBI, runs and batting average categories. The former two because McLouth gets on base better and drives in runs more often than who they were using in center. The latter because everyone sees better pitches with a better supporting cast, generally speaking. The bump is very slight, though, so don't go overpaying for a bunch of Braves. Just enjoy the extra production should you own one.