Braves prospect retrospect: Bruce Chen

Bruce Chen has become somewhat an afterthought in Atlanta Braves prospect lore. But as the Braves were ready to bring in the new century, there were quite a few that prophesied the then-21-year-old left-hander was a young Greg Maddux in the making.

Well, it’s safe to say that isn’t quite how it turned out. But to be fair, there aren’t many that can live up to that kind of billing.

How close did Chen get? Let’s take a look back at the long and strange MLB journey of Bruce Chen.

Bruce Chen: a Top-5 MiLB prospect in all of baseball

Chen, although of Chinese decent, was born and raised in Panama, which was where the Braves found him. He signed with the Braves at the age of 16 in 1993 and began his…