MLB
Full Schedule
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Despite dropping a big one in their homestand against the Baltimore Orioles and the Cincinnati Reds, the Braves have maintained a steady lead in the NL East over the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals.
It’s a bit a miracle, to be quite frank, because the baseball gods should have made Atlanta pay for losing consecutive series against two last place teams. One of which, the O’s, is the worst team in all of baseball (and outside of Kansas City, it’s not even close).
But the Braves escaped from that abysmal stretch pretty much unscathed and have been plenty appreciative thus far on their current road trip, putting up big numbers in the first two games against St. Louis.
It’s a good sign that the Bravos can still beat good teams, because July is going to be a hell of test for Atlanta. Arguably this is a month that can prove that the Braves are for real or humble them in a big way.
Why? Because of who they are playing. The best records in the National League belong to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Atlanta Braves, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals.
Beginning with the current series against St. Louis and excluding Atlanta itself because, duh, the Braves play every one of those teams except for Chicago and Philadelphia.
Not that missing the Cubs is much of a relief, because instead of that club the Braves are traveling to the Bronx for a three-game set against the Yankees, who have a significantly better record than anyone in the entire National League anyway.
There’s a two-game set against Toronto in the mix as well, but even they managed a split against Atlanta earlier in the season.
So, when I tell you that July is an important month, you can take that to the bank. The Braves have to win these series. Especially, because the Nationals play Miami EIGHT times during the month in addition to a six-game road trip against Pittsburgh and the Mets.
Plus, Philadelphia gets treated to series against those same Reds and Orioles that Atlanta should have stomped. The Phillies get a home series versus the Padres and play the Marlins and Pirates as well.
This would be the time, if I were a writer for a publication in Pennsylvania, I would suggest that Philly needs to take advantage of the schedule discrepancy and put pressure on Atlanta. Especially, considering that the Phillies and Braves won’t play each other until two of the last three series of the season.
On the flip side, that is what makes it so important that the Braves come out of this month not having lost any ground to the teams below them, Philadelphia in particular.
Just as they won’t be able to control their own fate if they are behind, so too will the Braves lack the ability to widen the standings (or worse, make a comeback) in head-to-head matchups until the campaign is almost over.
Atlanta will play Washington in one series per month for the rest of the year, including in July. I would argue it’s actually more important that they keep Washington down by playing well during these dog days of summer.
The Nationals still feel like a sleeping dragon. If they manage to climb to the top of the standings and subsequently start playing at the level at which they are capable, they will be very difficult to unseat as division leaders.
Make no mistake, this is going to be a very tough month for Atlanta and me saying ‘they need to play well’ seems obvious and easy.
However, come October, this may prove to be the most important month of the season for the National League East.
Bullpen Needs Horses
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Sam Freeman came in with a 5-3 lead to start the seventh inning Wednesday and gave up a leadoff walk and a pair of two-out singles, all those runners eventually scored and sent the Reds to a series-clinching win at SunTrust Park.
This all of a sudden is becoming a recurring theme for the Atlanta Braves. The starter gives you 6-7 quality innings and the bullpen comes in to blow it.
The Nationals went out and got Kelvin Herrera from the Royals and looked poised to make a run now in the NL East with that starting pitching they have.
Sam Freeman had a 2.94 ERA through May. Since then he has an 8.16 ERA with 13 earned runs and 6 walks allowed in 14-1/3 innings. The Braves are 4-11 in those games and he got three of the losses.
It appears I am piling on Sam Freeman, but the entire bullpen is struggling right now. The Braves still lead the NL East going into July so what will they do to address the issue?
Doing nothing is not an option at this point. Freddie Freeman is having an MVP season, Ozzie Albies is having a ROY season and the rotation is providing quality start after quality start. Braves have lost back to back series against the Orioles the worst team in baseball and the last place Reds who are hot currently but still in last place.
Look at these ERA’s over the past 7 appearances by these bullpen members:
Dan Winker: 8.10
Sam Freeman: 10.57
Peter Moylan: 12.46
This Braves team is good enough to contend but has to get better production out of the middle relievers. Yes, I know pitching staffs struggle from time to time but this is becoming a trend that needs to be addressed.
So, what do the Braves do before the deadline for bullpen help? Arodys Vizcaino is on the DL and he worries me every time he pitches. With no true closer available the woes of the bullpen are magnified.
I was in San Diego last week and caught a Padres game while in town. San Diego is in last place but has one of the best bullpens in baseball. Braves need arms in the pen. Why not call the Padres and ask for Craig Stammen, Kirby Yates or both?
How about Joe Jimenez from the Tigers? Jimenez has 43 strikeouts in 38 innings this year for the Tigers who are not going anywhere fast. The Tigers also have Shane Greene, who is their closer currently, but could step in as a setup or middle relief man in Atlanta.
Yates has a 0.82 ERA in 33 games for the Padres this year. Stammen has a 2.65 ERA in 34 games this year in San Diego.
These are all options for the Braves to pursue. Not to pursue bullpen options to match what Washington did with Herrera would infuriate the Braves fan base after such a great start to 2018.
Braves front office please go out and get some pitching help for the stretch run. Don’t waste this great start.
Braves Pitching The Draft
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The MLB draft is never as hyped up as the NBA or NFL drafts, and that’s somewhat fair because baseball has such an extensive minor league system that it is exceptionally rare that player makes the jump directly from the draft to a Major League roster.
There’s also far fewer safe bets in baseball. Top prospects often never go on to be All-Stars in baseball. It’s much more of a crap shoot. That being said, it is always interesting to see how teams draft, both on the level of individual players and on a macro level of what they were looking to do in a broad sense.
Despite the heavy penalties MLB slapped the Atlanta Braves with at the end of 2017, new GM Alex Antholopoulos had the task of drafting a new crop of talent to add to his already stocked pool last week.
Granted, most of the penalties involved were directed at the Braves’ ability to target international prospects (as that’s where former GM John Coppollela spent most of his illicit energies), but the Braves still lost their third round pick this year.
Those penalties did add a new wrinkle, however, as Atlanta needed to replace the 13 international prospects they had to release into the wild.
So, as to not lose years off of the farm system’s development, the Braves drafted 34 college players out of 39 total picks. Only Carter Stewart in the first round and Victor Vodnik in the 14th came out of high school before the last three rounds, where the final three were selected.
As a top 10 draft pick, all eyes will be on Stewart as he moves through the minors in the coming months and years. He is just the kind of player the Braves have coveted as of late, a prep school hurler with high upside.
Stewart’s prize possession is a nasty curveball, possibly the best in the entire draft class. He also has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, though he’s been clocked as high as 98.
At 6’ 6” and only 18 years old he has room to add muscle and apparently that process has already begun, as he has followed my lead and added on 30 pounds since last August.
He likely sealed the deal as the Braves’ choice with an 18-strikeout no-hitter earlier this year.
There were also some fortunate draft picks by the rest of MLB, leaving a player like right-handed pitcher Tristan Beck available in the fourth round, especially after they had to skip the previous one.
They also adhered to the time honored ideal that there is no such thing as too much pitching. They picked up 22 pitchers in the draft, including five lefties, alongside four outfielders, 9 infielders, and 4 catchers.
That might frustrate some folks, and I can understand why. The Braves are going to need position players in the near future (and right now at third base) and they could have filled those gaps with college batters who will be ready for the majors much sooner.
A third baseman (or someone who could be moved for a third baseman) would have solved an immediate need in Atlanta and before too long the Braves will need to look to replace the likes of Nick Markakis, Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki. However, Atlanta stayed true to their beliefs and picked up pitching in droves.
The last bit of business the Braves completed was a heartfelt one. In the 40th round the Braves drafted Mick Mangan, son of Braves groundskeeper Ed Mangan. Don’t sleep on this pick just because it was a nice gesture. The Dodgers once drafted somebody’s son as a favor in the last round too and Mike Piazza is in the Hall of Fame.
Restocking The Pond
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There has been more than plenty of hullabaloo about Derek Jeter’s teardown of the Miami Marlins in an attempt to shed money and begin a rebuilding process akin to the one the Royals and Cubs have had recent success with.
During the offseason, the Marlins shipped off the contracts of all their major players except for J.T. Realmuto, who begrudgingly remains a Marlin as of this writing. That was step one. Step two is fast approaching and it’s one the Marlins need to nail if they’re to keep whatever is left of their fanbase buying into Jeter’s vision for the future.
The Marlins will be picking 13th when the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft kicks off on Monday. They will have a fair few good options at that point, including one local prospect that may be a likely choice.
That prospect is Triston Casas out of Plantation, Florida’s American Heritage School. Caas is a first baseman/third baseman who may possess the rawest power out of any high school player on the board.
Casas hit to the tune of .446 his junior year and .387 his senior year, with 28 of his 52 hits combined those seasons going for extra bases.
Plus, there’s the added PR bonus of having a kid in your own backyard as your number one draft pick; it should provide some investment by the Miami community.
There’s also Mason Denaburg, a right-handed pitcher from Merritt Island High School on Merritt Island, Florida. He can touch the upper 90s with potential to develop a mean secondary pitch or two, though he was dealing with injuries during his senior year.
This might be a riskier pick since three or their last four first-round draft choices were pitchers who have been bitten by the injury bug after their signings. Adding a fourth to that list would do the Marlins’ front office no favors in the eyes of the public.
There are older prospects that could be considered for Miami at 13. Alec Bohm, a third baseman out of Wichita State; Jonathan India at Florida also at the hot corner; and South Alabama outfielder Jack Swaggerty all could be big-league ready much sooner than the aforementioned teens.
Bohm, for example, knocked out 16 home runs and drove in 55 while hitting .339 this season. India’s average and power numbers are even bigger. They are good options for Miami if they want players with a little more polish on them, but maybe a little lower ceiling and without the good optics a local high school player would provide.
The safer bets are those two Floridan high schoolers and if Miami does in fact select either one they would have gone with high school players first for five straight years.
It also means another thing: that whoever they pick, hometown prospect or not, he probably won’t be seen in the Majors for a long while. If this is the way the Marlins choose to go, then that rebuilding process may indeed take the better part of a decade.
Can the Marlins survive such a lengthy process? Or would they be completely abandoned by a fan base that only has a tenuous grip on caring as it is?
It would be a gamble, but Jeter and company need to make a statement with this draft one way or another. Half measures will do no one any good. They’ll need to draft the players they think they can build around for the long term and stick with them.
This draft is either going to be the new beginning for Miami, or the last straw before an MLB game is played with less than 1,000 spectators present.
Upgrade Eligible
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I haven’t been this excited about Braves baseball in almost a decade. Heading into June, the Braves have to start thinking about a line-up upgrade at third base, starting pitcher and closer by the trading deadline.
The Braves just released Jose Bautista and will play Johan Camargo at third base for now. This move I feel is temporary and is not the long-term solution at the position for the Braves. So, who can the Braves go get at third base at the deadline?
How about Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals? Moustakas tested the free agent market last winter and got a bad deal, coming off a 38-homer season only to settle for a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the team he expected move on from. The Royals won a World Series with Moustakas in 2015 so he knows the postseason grind and could be a calming presence in the locker room in a stretch run for the playoffs. T
he Royals are currently 19-36 and are going nowhere in the AL Central so it is time to rebuild that franchise. Moustakas is hitting .275 and has 11 HR’s and 35 RBI’s in 207 at bats this season. He turns 30 in September so he is in his prime.
The Braves farm system is loaded with talent and you could package Camargo and a young arm in the system to get him. Moustakas bats third in the Royals batting order and he could be plugged in anywhere from 4th to 6th in the Braves order and is a drastic power and production upgrade from Camargo.
I think the Braves can make this deal happen and Moustakas could be the solution for Atlanta at 3rd for the next 3-5 years. Did I fail to mention that Moustakas is a two-time American League All-Star?
Josh Donaldson from Toronto could also be an option at 3rd for Atlanta but I think Moustakas is a better and cheaper option. Donaldson makes $22 million a year and Moustakas makes $6.5 million.
At closer the Braves need help. Kelvin Herrera of the Kansas City Royals is the answer. The best closer sure to be available and his stock is high, with 11 saves and no walks in 19 2/3 innings. A 0.92 ERA with 17 strike outs and only one blown save in 21 appearances in 2018.
Can you really depend on Arodys Vizcaino down the stretch? Herrera is 28 years old. Vizcaíno for Herrera in a straight trade.
Immediate help in the rotation is Cole Hamels, Texas Rangers left handed quality starter. The Rangers are not going to pick up his $20 million option next year, which includes a large $6 million buyout and would love to unload him now.
Hamels, a four-time All-Star and 2008 World Series MVP, is 3-5 with a 3.74 ERA. He also has a postseason pedigree that would be perfect for any contender, especially in the National League.
Hamels could be the spark the rotation if the organization feels like they can win now. The 3.74 ERA on a bad Rangers team makes Hamels attractive at the trade deadline. At 34 years of age and 150 wins and 3.38 career ERA, Hamels still has plenty left in the tank. The Rangers are 12.5 games back and currently in last place behind the World Champion Astros in the AL West. It is time to clean house in Arlington. Braves could give up a couple of minor league prospects for Hamels.
As a fan, you would love to see the Braves address all three areas I have outlined above. If I had to prioritize the three areas of concern they would be:
Third Base/Starting Pitcher
Closer
This Braves team can win now with the right moves at the trading deadline. THIS SEASON!
Early To The Party
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The MLB season just passed the quarter mark this week and believe it or not the name at the top of the NL East standings is the Atlanta Braves.
Not the Mets, not the Phillies and most surprisingly not the Nationals. It’s the Braves who have been the standard bearers for the division ever since leapfrogging New York at the end of April. It’s an exciting time for Braves Country and one that seems legitimate, despite it also being ahead of schedule.
They weren’t supposed to be this good. If you need further proof of that look no further than the Vegas odds of Atlanta winning the World Series at the start of the 2018 season: 300 to 1.
That was tied with the Phillies and Oakland and just ahead of Pittsburgh, who held a fire sale in the offseason. 2018 was going to be another rebuilding year, as players like Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna, Jr. developed at the plate and the likes of Sean Newcomb developed on the mound, while Mike Foltynewicz got another year in the rotation under his belt.
Now we’re ¼ of the way through the season and the Braves look like real threats. If you need further proof of that look no further than the current Vegas odds of Atlanta winning the World Series: 30 to 1. That’s quite an unexpected leap.
The reason for that leap? Ozzie Albies, for one. Turns out he didn’t need more time to develop, he needed a platform to become an All-Star. The 21-year-old can’t stop blasting out extra base hits. His power, like the NL-leading 13 home runs, has been unmatched so far this year. He’s truly been a breakout star for Atlanta.
Acuna hasn’t been quite as consistent as Albies, but he too showed up to play. He’s launched (and I do mean launched) four homeruns in his first 21 games on the big-league roster, as well as stolen a few bases to boot. For a player with that kind of production to still be considered “finding his footing,”, that’s something to be excited about.
It also doesn’t hurt that Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis look to be having career years up to this point. Freeman is leading the league in OBP and Markakis is pacing MLB in hits as of Saturday.
Ender Inciarte has also recovered from a relatively slow start and is amassing more stolen bases than anyone else. That’s a lot of different league leaders in one lineup.
On the other side of the ball is Sean Newcomb, who like Albies seems to have taken the next two steps instead of one this year. Following six innings of one run ball on Saturday against Miami Newk is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.39, best in the rotation.
Folty is having plenty of success as well, with an ERA of 2.87. Even the oft-derided Julio Teheran hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13 innings pitched and he sits pretty with a 4-1 record and a 3.49 ERA.
It feels like we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it might not. The talent is there and it seems like the team is gelling well. If they can continue to produce at this level, they truly will be there at the end of the season.
There are improvements that can be made. Sure, the bullpen could use some fortifying and someone needs to step up at the hot corner but overall this team is the real deal. They were always going to get to this point. They just showed up a little early.
Braving Joey Bats
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Even two years ago, the signing of Jose Bautista would have come with tremendous fanfare along with a hefty price and immediate placement in the Major League lineup of any team; but in 2018, none of those things happened.
The Braves have quietly signed Bautista to a minor league contract that cost $1 million with no incentives.
What a difference two years make. The signing of Bautista, who is 37 years old, weirdly only seems noteworthy because he is Jose Bautista and he’s famous. This shouldn’t be.
In the last seven years, the guy was in the top 10 in MVP votes four times, including 2015 when he slugged 40 home runs and drove in 114 along with a league leading 110 walks. He hit 22 and 23 bombs in 2016 and 2017. He’s Jose Bautista. So, why isn’t this a bigger deal?
I wonder if people have always been waiting for the other foot to drop on Bautista. He was a late bloomer and with the exception of hitting .302 in 2011 his game was always power. That was bound to fade past the prime years of a ballplayer’s career, which he already had in his rearview.
Still, there’s a lot to be excited about with this signing. Especially, given that he costs pennies on the dollar to what he would cost any other year. The Braves have certainly taken advantage of a bizarre offseason with this acquisition.
Another bonus is that Bautista signed a minor league deal, which means there’s no actual pressure to put him on the 25-man roster if it looks like he won’t contribute.
Think back to the signing of Ryan Howard just one year ago. The similarities are plenty, including their age at the time. Howard signed for low money and when he didn’t hit in Gwinnett, he was released and there was no skin off the Braves’ nose.
The same will apply to Joey Bats. Once he finishes up his extended spring training run he’ll head to the Stripers and try to earn his way onto the big-league club.
If he does, then the Braves have a power-hitting righty to man third base in 2018; if he doesn’t, then no harm no foul. It’s the epitome of a no-risk move for Atlanta.
The appetizing part of this whole deal of course is the potential for fireworks if this plays out incredibly well. Bautista isn’t going to knock out 50 four-baggers this season even if he finds the fountain of youth. However, if he can turn back the clock and end the year with 20-25 dingers and can hit for at least a reasonable average (looking for around .250) the difference he’d make in the Braves’ lineup is massive.
Think about what Matt Kemp did in late 2016 when he slotted into the cleanup role and lengthened the batting order. The offense took off. There’s a chance Bautista could have that same effect. Plus, his presence as that right-handed power bat would take the pressure off Ronald Acuna, Jr. when he inevitably makes his debut this year.
So, at the end of the day, Bautista is all upside. He could show off and smash the ball, and that would improve the club. Or he could prove his doubters right and continue his decline, and in that case the Braves would be no worse off than they are now.
That’s what we call a win-win.
Ready, Set, Go
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Play ball!
The 2018 MLB season is under way and the Braves have wrapped up their first series of the year by winning two out of three against the Phillies.
That’s three games down, 159 to go but let’s unpack this tiny little sample size and see what we can deduce about how the rest of the season might go.
First off, this offense can be potent even without Ronald Acuna, Jr. They put up runs in all three games, including a huge night of 19 hits and 15 runs in the rubber game on Saturday.
That game in particular was a feat because they didn’t hit a single home run in the contest and that’s going to be something to keep an eye one.
This isn’t a team loaded with power (Nick Markakis, despite his walk off bomb on Opening Day, is not a powerful cleanup hitter), but they grinded and scrapped all series long to get the runs they got.
Of particular note were some of the players you might not have realized were on the team. Ryan Flaherty tore the cover off of the ball against Philadelphia (he’s hitting .538 on the season) and platoon left fielder Preston Tucker recorded two hits over the last two games to go along with his knock on Thursday. Along with Chris Stewart, who also featured prominently during the series finale, these are the guys that Alex Anthopoulos added to the team late and they are showing their worth so far.
Let’s not sell short the returning Braves either. Catchers aside, (because they’re both hurt) the returning Atlanta Braves, save one, are all hitting above .300 to start the season.
Ozzie Albies is the odd man out so far but he contributed a home run to the rally on Opening Day and has looked good in both the field and at the plate.
The rest, consisting of Ender Inciarte, Freddie Freeman, Markakis, and most importantly Dansby Swanson, have all racked up several hits on the young season so far.
Swanson went hitless in the first game but collected five in the following two. Hopefully, the rule to Thursdays exception.
The pitching, in particular the starting pitching, has also been good so far. Julio Teheran pitched five solid innings before leaving the field a bit of a mess in the sixth, Mike Foltynewicz through five with seven strikeouts against just one walk and two earned runs and new Brave Brandon McCarthy settled down after a rough first to pick up the first win for a Braves starter on the year.
It hasn’t been a showcase of several Clayton Kershaws but it was never going to be and what they did get was good enough.
But all that good work aside, what really stood out about this series is how inept Gabe Kapler looked as the manager of the Phillies.
From taking Aaron Nola out after 68 pitches and a 5-0 lead in game 1 to using 9 pitchers in game 2, to taking out his starter without having warmed up a reliever in game 3, the guy is going to get eaten alive by the Philadelphia press this week.
The Phillies are a better team on paper but unless Kapler can make some huge strides, and soon, the Braves will be looking forward to plaything them 16 more times before October.
Speaking of managers, a point of interest: Brian Snitker must be chasing Bobby Cox’s career record for ejections, as he’s been tossed twice in three games. It bears mentioning that those are the two victories, so maybe he ought to make it a trend.
Brave Business
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Ronald Acuna, Jr. had a stellar showing in spring training for the Braves this year.
The heir apparent to left field led the team with four home runs in 16 games to go along with his bonkers slash line of .432/.519/.727. Oh, and he also stole 4 bases.
To sum up, the kid is good and he’s going to win Rookie of the Year; once he makes the big-league club.
That’s right, Acuna has already been demoted to Triple A despite having the best spring of anyone on the team and he’ll begin the season in Gwinnett, just as predicted.
Don’t fret however, because he’ll be donning his Atlanta uniform on April 13th. Write in down in pen.
The reason for this decision comes down to money and player control, not that anyone in the Braves’ front office would say so publicly. It’s the same situation that the Cubs found themselves in with Kris Bryant, the Philles with Maikel Franco, and the Astros with George Springer.
Due to complicated and pretty stupid Collective Bargaining Agreement details (the players are really going to have some things to say when the current CBA expires) if the Braves keep Acuna in the minor leagues through April 12th, they’ll get an extra year of at the end of his initial contract before he’s eligible for free agency.
Essentially Atlanta is trading two weeks of baseball’s best prospect in 2018 for a full year of a player entering his prime six years from now. A fair trade, if you ask me.
It’s a loophole that will almost certainly be closed in the next few years, as it does deny the players involved a whole year of potential big money but the Braves will reap the benefits for now.
As they should, because this is not the same situation as the Cubs were in in 2015, when they were a competitive team. Bryant being held back and the interim third basemen going 1-for-12 in the three losses out of five games might have actually made a difference to Chicago, who could have had home field advantage in the Wild Card Game with just one more win (they beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh anyway, mind you).
A few losses due to some lesser left fielders taking the field instead of Acuna will have no such impact for Atlanta.
I know it’s disappointing for those who bought Opening Day tickets (see you there), but let’s not pretend that two weeks of Acuna are going to make or break the Braves’ 2018 season.
The Nationals are going to win the NL East again (and lose in the first round again) and a few extra at-bats by our best prospect isn’t going to stop them.
The Wild Card is going to be out of reach as well. I think the team is going to be able to take some steps forward this year but there are better teams out there who will secure those spots.
The Braves won’t find themselves in the cellar (hello, Miami) but the youth and inexperience of the pitching staff will prevent them from finding a way into the playoffs this year.
On the other hand, in six years’ time those pitchers will be in their primes and so will the likes of Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Ronald Acuna, Jr.
There will be more use for him on the other end of this contract than there is right now and that’s why the Braves are doing what they’re doing.
This demotion was expected and its good business. Ronald Acuna, Jr. will be here soon anyway, on April 13th.
Out Of Options
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For a while after Suntrust Park was announced, the fable was that when the stadium opened in 2017 the Braves would be ready to compete.
As the opening for the new park drew closer, that hope became less of a reality and instead the expectation to compete for a playoff spot was pushed back a couple of years.
It still hasn’t arrived, but 2019 could very well be the first true step forward in Atlanta’s rebuild. That means 2018 won’t be a playoff year, but it is still a very crucial season for the Bravos.
The steps they take through this season will determine how to spend the money coming off the books next offseason to field a team that will challenge for a postseason berth. It’s also an opportunity for players who have high expectations but haven’t yet produced to do so; especially those with no more minor league options.
Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that those players may break camp with the Braves in order to get a longer look at what they can do.
He’s saying that the 25 best guys out of spring training may not be the 25 on the roster on Opening Day (clue number 346 that Ronald Acuna is starting the season in Gwinnett).
The players without options include Jose Ramirez, Luke Jackson, Josh Ravin, Chase Whitley, Lane Adams, and Danny Santana. Some of those names were penciled in anyway, but others may come as surprise picks for the opening of the season.
Luke Jackson, for example, will need to prove that he deserves a spot on the team once they kick it into gear in 2019. He had a lot of growing pains out of the bullpen in 2017, including getting eaten alive by right-handed hitters.
Jackson may end up a left-handed specialist but that will all be determined by what he shows Anthopoulos and Brain Snitker this year.
Josh Ravin was picked up after the Dodger’s DFA’d him in November and at the age of 30 he’ll have a huge chip on his shoulder as he tries to stay afloat in the majors.
Chase Whitley is another new addition; picked up off waivers from Tampa Bay in December. Whitley had a successful season in Tampa, posting a 4.08 ERA. He was a former starter and can offer the Braves another option as a long reliever, so expect him to be given a fair amount of leeway as the season progresses.
Danny Santana is only 27 years old but since a stellar rookie campaign in Minnesota in 2014, he hasn’t managed to consistently produce at a level anywhere close. He could be incredibly important to a competitive team, with versatility and speed that can win plenty of ballgames, even if it’s just off the bench. However, hitting at a .202 clip, as he did last year simply isn’t going to keep him on the team. He’s young and has enough raw speed that someone would take a flyer out on him if he doesn’t remain a Brave but being productive for an up and coming young team will draw more eyes to him than being picked up off the scrap heap will.
All eyes will be understandably focused on the stars of the future in 2018. The Swansons, the Albieses, the Freemans and the Acunas, but it takes a whole team of ballplayers to win with enough consistency to fight for a chance at a postseason run.
These players might be even more fun to watch these season, as they with nothing to lose seek to prove their worth for this year and beyond.
