The Jake Peavy rumors are heating up at the Winter GM meetings, with the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves at the forefront.  Much discussion centers around Tommy Hanson, the Braves farmhand that threw a 14-K no-hitter this year in the minors, and whether or not the Braves should give him up. His 2.73 / 1.08 minor league line is impressive, as is the 373 strikeouts in 323 innings. While he’s walking a few too many hitters right now, the scouts love him, and by all accounts, including direct statements from GM Frank Wren, he’s untouchable, along with super-stud outifelder Jason Heyward.

It’s really looking like the Braves package will revolve around Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene for Yunel Escobar, and then two or three out of the group of Cole Rohrbaugh, Brandon Jones, Tyler Flowers and Julio Teheran. Braves fans may swallow hard when they see some of these names, but they are all second-tier prospects, and this is following the Dan Haren model of quantity over quality. And the Braves system can handle it. Should they? That’s another question for another time. Another question for another time is if the rumored Chicago Cubs package is actually better, and we’ll cover that later this week here at At The Dish. But for now, let’s look at the players rumored in the Braves deals.

Cole Rohrbaugh is the prize prospect in the group I’ve mentioned. He’s a young lefty with 200 strikeouts in only 150 inning, and a 94-mph heater with a big spike curveball. There are some whispers about his delivery and injury possibilities. Touted as the left-handed version of Tommy Hanson by some, he’s got the same issues with walks, averaging a walk per two innings at some spots in the minors. If the Bravos include Cole, I think this deal will happen, he’s more exciting than Sean Marshall.

Tyler Flowers would be the second-best prospect, a 22-year old catcher with good defense and an excellent eye at the plate (.400 OBP career in the minor leagues). He’s got more line-drive type power than McCann, but since the Bravos have McCann, Flowers is best used as a trade chip. Given the Pads’ situation at catcher, this seems like a slam-dunk part of any trade.

Julio Teheran is a low-minor prospect with a big arm and some control problems at age 16. Since the Pads GM has stated his wish for a replacement starter coming back in the deal, this piece might be replaced by Jo-Jo Reyes. Reyes has good minor league stats, is a lefty, but is still looking for major league success. Brandon Jones is a league-average regular outfielder with a little power and speed, but with the Pad’s outfield situation, he has a good chance to be included in the deal.

But Rohrbaugh and Flowers are the stars of this possible deal. Coming soon: looking at the Chicago Cubs prospects.