Of the 14 opening days since Furcal's April 2000 big-league debut, the Braves have started a homegrown shortstop on 10 occasions: Furcal five times, Yunel Escobar three times, and Andrelton Simmons twice.

The trend started in November 1996, when the Braves signed Rafael Furcal out of the Dominican Republic. Though the Braves are known for their work with pitchers, they've spent the last two decades as a top producer of shortstops. Such is the case with the Braves and shortstops. But sometimes a team's track record dates back so far, with no clear explanation as to why, that you wonder if all the prophesying is legitimate or phooey. The hunt for a new edge, a new secret, is the lone constant for front offices. Strategies begin as a hypothesis, grow into a trade secret, then-if they succeed for a while-eventually become common knowledge. Some are more profitable than others, but each comes with an implicit caveat: fine print that reads 'subject to change.' The Pirates will be outbid on the Korea market in the future if their current investments work out, just as surely as the Diamondbacks will lose priority in the indie leagues if their signings produce another David Peralta or two, and so on. Throughout this series, we've chronicled almost every team's Moneyball. Total WARP: 20.8 (6.9 pitching, 13.9 non-pitching, including 0.7 from pitchers) Week 2 previews: Nationals | Tigers | Pirates | Mariners | Brewers | Indians | Marlins | Orioles | Diamondbacks | TwinsĪVG/OBP/SLG ( TAv). Week 1 previews: Giants | Royals | Dodgers | Rays | Padres | Astros | Rockies | Athletics | Mets | Yankees

Today: the shortstop factories of the Braves and Rangers. Every day until Opening Day, Baseball Prospectus authors will preview two teams-one from the AL, one from the NL-identifying strategies those teams employ to gain an advantage.

Atlanta braves shortstop