MLB
Cold October For Braves?
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There is still plenty of baseball to be played in the 2019 regular season, but thanks to a torrid June and a good July, the Atlanta Braves have placed themselves in prime position to repeat as the National League East champions.
As the Braves dig in for the dog days of August and the stretch run in September, speculation will run rampant as to how the playoffs will shape up.
And with July 31 marking the annual trade deadline and new league rules prohibiting waiver trades during the month of August, playoff contenders will have only their current MLB roster and farm system (along with any unsigned free agents) to turn to as the pressure ramps up.
Regardless of the moves made in the final hours before the trade deadline, the Braves have built a formidable squad.
Ronald Acuna has progressed nicely from his 2018 Rookie of the Year form and 2019 rookie Austin Riley has proven to be a dangerous bat despite a midseason swoon.
Freddie Freeman continues to perform at near-MVP levels while Ozzie Albies is earning every bit of his new contract and the one-year deal struck with Josh Donaldson over the winter is paying big dividends as the third baseman has shown flashes of what made him a former American League MVP.
Without exception, any pitcher taking the mound against Atlanta’s lineup will have to tread carefully.
Unfortunately, the adage still holds true that good pitching tends to beat good hitting in the playoffs. And – in a scenario that seems to be resembling Braves division title runs from 2013 and last season – it could be the arms that prove to be their undoing.
To be sure, the Braves aren’t a bad pitching team. Mike Soroka has already racked up 10 wins in his rookie campaign, Dallas Keuchel is a solid piece in the rotation and Max Fried is quickly becoming a frontline starter.
Meanwhile, Sean Newcomb has found success in later innings since being dropped from the starting rotation and – all hair-raising Luke Jackson appearances aside – the Atlanta bullpen has been better than general complaints from fans would indicate.
But the problem with previous division title winners in Atlanta has been that their pitching just didn’t quite stack up with the rest of the best in the National League, and that issue could prove true once more.
The class of the National League has been the Los Angeles Dodgers, thanks in no small part to their starting rotation.
The Dodgers’ top three all started games in last year’s playoff series win over Atlanta, with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw combining for 15 scoreless innings against a similarly hot-hitting Braves offense.
Conversely, Braves starters combined to throw just 13.1 innings over the four-game series, allowing nine earned runs in the process.
The potential matchups aren’t much better for Atlanta if a team like Washington gets through the wild card round and brings its rotation of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin to town.
St. Louis is currently making a run to the top of the N.L. Central and – while not boasting top starters – has one of the most dependable bullpens in the league that can shorten up tight postseason games.
None of this is to say that Atlanta can’t win. The Braves have the second-best record in the National League and have proven that they can bash teams into oblivion on any given night.
But baseball purists love to look to the past to figure out what will happen in the future. And in the case of the 2019 Braves, that means that the pitching will have to hit another gear or the bats will need to keep hitting like its summertime for the next three months.
Arms Race
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For most of 2019 the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen has shouldered most of the criticism for the team.
Braves Country has clamored for relief help for months, decrying that Craig Kimbrel signed elsewhere when the Braves really needed him.
Despite the fact that the Braves have had one of the top bullpens in the National League since June 1st, the idea that the relief corps is struggling has continued, but that notion is starting to shift.
Max Fried hit the 10-day IL with an injury last week and it started off a chain reaction that has exposed the Braves’ actual need: depth of starting pitching.
With prospects coming out of their ears, this might sound crazy, but guys the Braves were counting on to be reliable this season – namely Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman, and to a lesser extent Sean Newcomb – have been anything but.
Even with the injuries and poor showings by those three, the Braves have roared to the top of the NL East behind a stellar season from Mike Soroka, consistently good outings by Max Fried, a return to form by Julio Teheran, and the recent addition of Dallas Keuchel.
But after Fried went down, the Braves starting plugging holes with pieces that haven’t been up to snuff.
Bryce Wilson and Kyle Wright are talented pitchers and may very well still be huge parts of Atlanta’s future, but they haven’t been able to perform at the level that a first-place team needs them to. Certainly not Wright, who couldn’t make it out of the 3rd inning in his start against the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
And that’s the biggest sign that the Braves don’t have the depth they need in the rotation: Going into a four-game series against the team directly under them in the standings (and a scorching hot team to boot), the Braves pitched an unproven rookie in the first game and turned to Gausman and his 6.21 ERA to prevent a second straight series loss in game four (that previous series loss, to the Brewers, came ominously after Fried hit the IL and was Atlanta’s first series loss since the first week in June).
The Braves have just about a week and a half before the trade deadline (remember: starting this year, July 31st is the ONLY trade deadline). Gausman and Folty might turn things around, but Alex Anthopoulos can’t bet the whole season on that.
Atlanta needs to start wheeling and dealing for rotation help or – even if they manage to hold on to their NL East lead – they’ll get eaten alive in the playoffs, again, probably by the Dodgers, again.
Marcus Stroman, Zack Greinke, Trevor Bauer, Zach Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner; these are all potentially available pitchers that could make a difference in Atlanta’s fortunes.
They don’t need to go out and try to pick up the most dominant ace in the history of the game, but they need reliability on the mound every turn through.
It’s always stress-inducing to give up prospects. No one wants to overpay, but the price for the kind of pitcher the Braves need to succeed in the postseason is going to be steep.
That’s okay. The time of considering the future is in the past. The Braves have a chance to win in the here and now, but only if they act.
The comfortable lead the Braves carved out for themselves is getting less comfortable, especially over the weekend during their series against Washington.
Atlanta needs to arm itself (pun very much intended) in order to keep some distance between themselves and the Nationals (and Phillies, who are still playing above .500 with a dangerous lineup).
Florida Baseball In October?
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Baseball is a strange and wonderful game. Sometimes incredible things happen; like the Angels throwing a combined no-hitter on the night they honor their fallen teammate Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away a couple of weeks ago.
Sometimes bizarre things happen, like an attack swarm of midges derailing the Yankees’ playoff hopes in Cleveland in 2007.
Sometimes things are both expected and unexpected – like the Tampa Bay Rays finishing the first half of 2019 in 2nd place in the AL East, 6 ½ games behind the New York Yankees and 2 games above the mighty Boston Red Sox.
This is unexpected because the Rays are always overlooked and consistently underfunded. People always seem to forget about Tampa Bay, with their lack of superstars and roster that seems made up of cast offs.
People also always forget that over the past decade or so, the Rays have been pretty good. They’ve been to the playoffs four times since 2008, and made a real run of it just last year and yet I don’t think many expected them to be in this position after the All-Star Break.
But here they are. At one point in May (that’s the second month of the season, mind you) Tampa Bay had the best record in all of baseball.
The Yankees heated up at the opportune time (when the Rays cooled down) and even with two and half months left in the season the Bronx Bombers seem uncatchable, but going into Saturday’s games Tampa is on top of the Wild Card heap by a game over Cleveland and Oakland. If they keep on as they have been, there will be playoff games in Florida for the first time since 2013.
A lot of the winning ways have come from Tampa’s starters, namely Charlie Morton, who brought some Houston Astros winning mojo with him when he signed during the offseason.
He’s leading the American League in ERA with a 2.32 mark and is in the top 5 in strikeouts with 142 whiffs. Assuming more of the same in the 2nd half, the Rays can count on wins every time Morton takes the mound for them.
The offense isn’t leading the pack in the way that Morton is, but they have been consistently average throughout the season so far.
They are a bit of an outlier in 2019, as they are a contending team that doesn’t hit the ball over the fence. The Rays have only 114 runs, outside of the top 10 in the AL.
However, while that’s abnormal for a good team in today’s game, it’s also kind of normal for Tampa Bay to be abnormal. They’ve always found creative ways to win, dating back to when Joe Maddon was at the helm of the team.
Looking ahead, there is a lot for the Rays to look forward to and take advantage of. Specifically, the number of games against the teams looking up at them from below in the AL East.
Tampa plays the Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays a combined 23 times over their last 70 games. These are bad teams and should be easy wins for the Rays.
Which isn’t to say there aren’t challenges. The Rays have a west coast trip ahead, including a showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers, far and away the scariest team in the National League.
There’s also the unfortunate scheduling happenstance that the Rays only play the Yankees six more times before the season ends (again, it’s unlikely that they’ll be making up those 6 ½ games).
That being said, if the Rays can stay the course (or even add a little something before the July 31st trade deadline) they should be in a good position to claim a Wild Card spot come this October.
Braves Tomahawk First Half
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Braves will be entering the All-Star Break sitting pretty atop of the heap of the National League East.
That fact, plus a three-All-Star showing in the personages of Ronald Acuna, Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Mike Soroka, should make baseball fans all across Braves country rejoice.
It’s especially sweet given the potential offseason improvements made by the Washington Nationals (adding Patrick Corbin, among other things) and Philadelphia Phillies (adding Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, and Jean Segura, among other things), both of whom are tied for 2nd place in the East at 6 games back going into Sunday’s contests.
The Mets too, made moves to improve themselves (blockbuster trade for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz), and they sit under .500 at 13 games back going into Sunday.
The Braves, for their part, made very few headlines in the offseason other than signing Josh Donaldson to a hefty $23 million contract for a year and he has only really been bringing the rain for the past two weeks or so, offensively.
So, the fact that the Bravos have managed to put a relatively nice cushion between them and the rest of the NL East at the end of the first half is truly an impressive feat, though maybe not an entirely surprising one, as they did win the division last season.
The question is: can they maintain the lead they’ve carved out for themselves during the second half of 2019? And if they can, are they capable of playing deeper into the playoffs than their fairly unimpressive showing against the Los Angeles Dodgers last October?
The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. The Mets are being the Mets and seem to be on the verge of implosion, so let’s table them for the time being.
The Phillies are a talented squad but the Braves have shown that they can handle them, winning the last two series against them and outscoring them 50-25 over those six games.
The Nationals are a bit more of an unknown factor. The Braves have only played them five times so far this season, and have gone 2-3 so far. Granted, they took 2 out of 3 from them in the nation’s capital two weeks ago, so recency bias has the Braves at an advantage for their season exchange going forward.
The Braves have won with a nearly unstoppable offense in 2019. They’ve set a new season record for home runs before the break and tied the franchise record for most players with 15 bombs in the first half – both records set by the 2003 squad (note: if Ozzie Albies knocks one out on Sunday, the new record will be set with six – SIX – players with 15 homers).
The pitching for Atlanta in 2019 has been more inconsistent, which is partially why the answer to the second question is probably a no.
Mike Soroka has earned his All-Star selection, but the Atlanta rotation just hasn’t shown it can get the job done day in and day out. Obviously, the team has been winning, but that doesn’t mean that if the Braves draw the Dodgers in the first round again that they won’t get spanked.
There’s potential here. However, Julio Teheran has found his old self in 2019, though he still has his poor streaks.
Mike Foltynewicz has proved that he can be better than he has been this year, and I feel confident we haven’t seen the best of Dallas Keuchel in an Atlanta uniform yet (he just got started, after all).
But these guys need to find another gear if this second exciting year atop the NL East is going to end differently than the last one.
K Is For Keuchel
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Braves’ big-ticket item has arrived. Former Cy Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel made his debut on the road in our nation’s capital.
For months, Braves Country clamored for a big signing. The bullpen was the primary focus of grief and most would have assumed that Atlanta would go after former Brave Craig Kimbrel.
However, it was starter Keuchel. In truth, his arrival comes at an opportune time, the same time as Kevin Gausman’s fairly epic fall from grace (his placement on the Injured List seems less like a physical injury concern and more like making room for someone who’s going to hopefully win more games).
On the other hand, Gausman’s poor performance may have quickened the pace at which Keuchel was brought up to the big-league team. Regardless, after two minor league starts, Keuchel was called up and put on the mound against a division rival.
And it went…pretty well, actually. Keuchel took the loss in a 4-3 game against the Nationals, but it was a pretty promising outing.
Yes, he gave up four runs over the course of five innings, but only three of those runs were earned and that’s good enough to win most games.
Given the Braves recent average of over seven runs per game, allowing three or four runs is actually giving the team a great chance at a victory.
Beyond that, Keuchel also impressed with three strikeouts and – most importantly – no walks.
For a guy making his third professional appearance of the season, that kind of control is a joyous surprise. It’s also indicative of Keuchel’s renowned skills. Not an overpowering pitcher, he won his Cy Young and had a great 2018 season because he can locate the ball. To see him demonstrate that same skill this early in tenure is a very good sign.
And we can’t overlook how early it is. Obviously, the guy is a professional athlete and he clearly spent his unemployment time doing workouts and staying in shape, but Spring Training exists for a reason. Pitchers need time to recalibrate and stretch out.
The stretching out doesn’t seem as necessary as he’s thrown about 100 pitchers per start, but the point remains that he’s not even in midseason form and he’s still keeping his team in the game against rosters that are.
So, looking ahead, the Braves have found themselves a piece that should be able to help them hold onto first place into the National League East.
All in all, the addition of Dallas Keuchel is something to be excited about for Braves Country. It isn’t the return of a prodigal son, as signing Kimbrel would have been, but a starter is going to pitch far more innings and have a bigger impact if the Braves can hang on and make it to the postseason (where Keuchel has performed and won a ring).
This is going to be a huge get for Atlanta.
Tomahawkin
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Braves have been scorching hot lately. They leapfrogged the Phillies to take sole possession of first place in the National League East.
With the All-Star Break rapidly approaching, the Braves appear to be positioning themselves well to go into the second half as the team on top and that might mean that General Manager Alex Anthopoulos may be able to make moves (on top of the Dallas Keuchel signing) before the trade deadline to bolster some of the weak spots on the roster.
That being said, let’s take a brief look at some of the things that have led the Braves into first place, as well as a few things that need improvement.
The Really Good:
Austin Riley – It’s not a coincidence that Riley’s promotion to the big leagues proceeded the Braves rise to the top of the heap.
Riley has been beyond exceptional for Atlanta, not just hitting the ball out of the yard but also coming up with clutch hits and playing better left field than a third baseman has any right to.
Nearly the rest of the lineup, for the most part, has been roaring during this surge. Ozzie Albies has found his stroke, Freddie Freeman is putting up MVP-type numbers, Dansby Swanson and Ronald Acuna have been consistent (Acuna loves that leadoff spot), and the catching platoon has been reminiscent of the Flowers/Suzuki platoon a few years ago.
Mike Soroka – The undisputed ace of the staff in 2019, picked up right where he left off in 2018. He has a razor-thin ERA and composure on the mound far exceeding his years. With Keuchel as an unknown factor at the moment, Soroka starts Game 1 of the playoffs for this team.
Julio Teheran – To the surprise of many (myself included – see my unflattering and now-proven-wrong article about Julio from the end of March), Julio Teheran has recaptured the magic that caused the Braves to extend him years ago. He’s been more reliable than Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman, stepping up as the veteran presence in a young rotation.
Luke Jackson – A relief pitcher? Yes. Jackson opened up the season with an atrocious showing, but has since taken over the closer role and has been a solid – if imperfect – piece to close out Atlanta’s victories in 2019.
The Not So Good:
Josh Donaldson – The Bringer of Rain has managed to hit 10 homeruns and has a surprisingly robust batting average with runners in scoring position, but he has failed to earn the $23 million the Braves gave him during the offseason.
It’s unlikely the Braves will find a trade partner for the veteran, but with Riley’s emergence it seems like that Donaldson’s tenure in Atlanta will not span past one season.
Folty and Gausman – The two steadiest presences in the rotation in 2018 were both injured during Spring Training and neither seems to have come back quite right.
Gausman hit the Injured List, and with Keuchel waiting in the wings he may have made his last start for the year.
The Rest of the Bullpen – I know it. You know it. Let’s move on.
I’ll do the math for you, there’s more good than bad on the team right now.
Plus, the weaker points can be improved: Keuchel for Gausman is sure to be an upgrade, and the party line for months has been that Anthopoulos will make moves if the Braves are contending and first place is certainly contending.
If things continue as they are or improve even slightly, Braves Country is in for a great second half.
Field Of Dreams
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Premier Academy phenom Daniel Espino achieved the goal of a lifetime’s worth of work as the flame throwing pitcher was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 24th pick in the first round of Major League Baseball’s draft last week.
A member of the Georgia Premier Academy for the last three seasons, Espino blossomed into one of the best professional prospects – at the high school or collegiate level – in the country.
He was rated by Baseball America as the best prep pitcher in the nation last summer and he is certainly still the hardest throwing after being clocked at 99 miles per hour at a Perfect Game showcase at Wrigley Field last summer.
A dominant showing by Espino during GPA’s spring season made sure that he was on the radar of every team and it was the Indians that finally called out his number.
“It was such a great feeling – I can’t even describe it,” Espino said. “This is what I’ve dreamed about. It’s been crazy the last few days, but that’s a moment I’ll remember forever.”
The moment was especially memorable for Espino, not so much because of the new members of the Indians’ organization that will be coming into his life, but because of the old members of his journey to the draft that were there to share in the celebration.
Espino grew up in Panama before leaving his home country behind in search of better chances to develop as a player in the United States.
He has only seen his family sporadically over the last few years, but everyone was on hand for his graduation from Bulloch Academy before joining him on his journey to New York for the draft.
“Everything is more special because I get to share it with my family,” Espino said. “They’ve supported me and encouraged me the whole time. They’ve also helped to keep everything calm leading up to (the draft). To be able to tell my mom and dad that I had been picked and to be able to hug them – that was very special for me.”
All of the hype that has surrounded Espino for the last two seasons will only grow now that he is a first-round selection, but the next step for him is still uncertain.
Joining the Indians will likely come with a big signing bonus and plenty of support from the organization to give their top pick a good path to the big leagues.
On the other hand, Espino and his family also value education and he has already locked down a scholarship to play at LSU next spring if he chooses to go to college before turning pro.
“I’ll be making a decision pretty soon,” Espino said. “I see it as a win-win. I like what I’ve seen from Cleveland’s organization and it’s obviously great to be able to start a professional career. But LSU is also a great school with a great team and coaches that I like.
“God has it all planned out. I know that it’s going to be great.”
Help Is Here
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One of the biggest stories in baseball through the first two months of the 2019 season was that of the unemployed: Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel.
They were linked to almost every team under the sun. I, myself, wrote about the need to have Kimbrel rejoin the Braves and help shore up their bullpen just a few weeks ago.
Eventually it became clear that both pitchers would have to wait until after the MLB Draft to find gainful employment for the rest of the season. After that event, teams that sign either player neither have to give up a draft pick nor would they be required to extend qualifying offers if the free agents leave at the end of this year.
So, the draft has come and gone and Kimbrel and Keuchel were snatched up quickly. Kimbrel, a former Atlanta Brave, was desired by most fans. However, he inked a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs (allegedly the Braves didn’t want to sign him for three years, despite that being half the time he reportedly asked for during the offseason).
But the Braves didn’t sit idly by, inking Keuchel to a one-year, $13 million deal to join their starting rotation.
It was somewhat of a surprise, as the Yankees were in on the lefty as well. He must have really not wanted to shave his beard. It’s also possible that Keuchel wanted to work with Brian McCann again after a successful run with the backstop in Houston (we’ll see if Mac is assigned a majority of Keuchel’s games). Maybe he likes muggy summers. Whatever the reasons, Keuchel has the potential to be a big boost to the Braves postseason dreams.
Yes, Keuchel is 31 and is a few years removed from his Cy Young-winning peak, but he has plenty to offer, including being a fiery veteran in the clubhouse (perhaps a good balance to the quiet leader in Nick Markakis).
His experience also comes with four, count ‘em, four, postseason victories on his resume. That will come in handy if the Braves find themselves in the playoffs for a second year in a row.
Some of the young pitchers made appearances in the Division Series against Los Angeles, but they lacked effectiveness at the most important stage of the year. Mike Foltynewicz, a fiery competitor himself, notably melted down during Game 1 last October.
Keuchel will have the opportunity to serve as a steady hand (a hand that has a ring, mind you) on the national stage.
At the end of the day, Keuchel makes the rotation better at a fairly low cost and no cost in prospects.
He won’t need to be 2015 Dallas Keuchel to be a worthy addition to the team. Mike Soroka has essentially forced himself into the team’s number one, and Julio Teheran has looked like he might turn in a very solid season. Folty has shown signs of finally shaking his rust after a late start to the season and Max Fried is tied for the team wins with 7 (with Soroka).
Perhaps the most specific impact Keuchel might have would be to displace Kevin Gausman. Gausman just hasn’t been able to replicate the great success he had as a Brave last season after a midseason trade from the Baltimore Orioles.
Every time it looks like he’s on track, the next game (or even inning) gets away from him. I’m not sure what the Braves could do with him, contractually speaking, but all signs point to him being the odd man out once Keuchel makes a few starts in the minor leagues and gets ready to join the big club.
In any case, Keuchel, assuming health and the absence of a complete breakdown, can only help the team. We’ll be seeing him with a tomahawk on his chest soon.
Young Guns
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Going into Spring Training, the Atlanta Braves felt like they had two strong anchors in their starting rotation in Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman.
Both guys had a few years in the bigs under their belts and both had successful campaigns in 2018. Gausman’s success coming after he was traded to Dixie from the Baltimore Orioles, in particular.
It was the rest of the rotation that was covered in question marks. The loss of Anibal Sanchez to Sean Newcomb’s second half crash to the ever-changing consistency of Julio Teheran, the starting corps was less of a strength and more of a potential strength.
The talent was there. The Braves had built up a mountain of wealth in the arms department but there was no track record because a few flashes of brilliance from most of the prospects.
So, there was reasonable concern when both Folty and Gausman couldn’t make it to the finish line of Spring Training healthy. These were the guys Atlanta needed to lean on while the prospects and younger arms of the rotation were put to the test.
Flash forward to the June 1st, the season is two-thirds of the way done, and the Braves have two strong anchors in their rotation: but the twist is that the anchors are two of those same prospects the Braves weren’t sure they could count on in March.
Mike Soroka and Max Fried have been the stalwart performers of Atlanta’s starting rotation in 2019, leading the team in earned run average and wins, respectively, and each of them rank second in the category they aren’t leading in.
In fact, the question marks surround Folty and Gausman, who both returned from the Injured List and have been inconsistent at best (Gausman, for the most part) or just bad at worst (Folty, for the most part). They haven’t been able to secure wins for their team, going 3-8 collectively, and neither can boast an ERA under 5.50.
If there’s good news among the bad, it’s that both are talented enough to break out of these funks. In fact, both have had recent games that looked like a turnaround point only to have poor outings the following turn.
Soroka and Fried, on the other hand, have been consistently great. Fried has kept Atlanta in pretty much every game he’s started, as his 7 wins show. Finally, getting a chance to stick in the rotation (he made a total of 9 starts out of 23 appearances over the past two seasons), Fried is showing why the Braves coveted him so much when they traded Justin Upton to San Diego for him in December of 2014.
Soroka has been a revelation; picking up from where he left off last season before he got hurt and proving that he’s got the moxie to be a top starter even at the age of 21.
Soroka has been so good since joining the rotation that when he went eight innings in San Francisco against the Giants last month and only gave up one run, his ERA actually went up.
The kicker is that the last piece of the rotation puzzle, Julio Teheran, has actually been pretty good this year as well. He may have finally settled into the middle-of-the-rotation guy he was probably always destined to be anyway.
What this all amounts to is this: if (when?) Folty and Gausman figure it out, the Braves rotation will be among the most formidable quintet in the game today. And that’s thanks in large part to the teams two studs: Mike Soroka and Max Fried.
Swing For The Fence
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Despite a division title defense that hasn’t quite gone as expected so far and a few glaring issues that cause fans stress on a nightly basis, the Atlanta Braves are still in a great spot to build off of last year’s surprise playoff appearance.
In fact, the Braves and their fans should buckle up right now and take their best shot at the ultimate goal of winning a World Series.
While the Braves have a lot of pieces in place at the major league level and figure to have more coming up the pipeline in the near future, it’s important for the franchise to realize that this isn’t the same game that allowed it to win division titles for the better part of two decades.
Major League Baseball is now a game of windows when it comes to competing for a world title, and although the Braves aren’t even two years removed from wallowing at the bottom of their division, right now is the right time to strike while the iron is hot.
Atlanta already has a lineup that consists of a guy on track for Cooperstown in Freddie Freeman. Ronald Acuna has gone from runaway Rookie of the Year winner to serious MVP candidate and Dansby Swanson is starting to look more and more like a former overall No. 1 draft pick with each passing day. And now the last two weeks have seen the rise of Austin Riley.
Of course, it hasn’t all been sunshine and roses for Atlanta. The Braves’ bullpen was a huge question mark entering the season and has done little to make any fan comfortable with any late lead.
The starting rotation has also been in flux as Sean Newcomb is nothing like his 2018 self and Mike Foltynewicz isn’t putting up anything close to the ‘ace’ numbers that had him at the top of the rotation in the spring.
A couple of decades ago, this would have been the recipe that called for the Braves to hold tight, continuing to develop all of the currently excelling talent while trusting that other proven commodities would either return to form or eventually be replaced by guys in the minors.
That’s not how things are done anymore. The Braves have a lineup that can do damage against the current MLB pitching staffs that can roll out one flamethrower after the next. And – on the right day – the squad also has enough arms to shut down the better teams in the league.
This is where the front office has to believe in itself and let loose all of its power to make the Braves a World Series contender. The should make a few deals to solidify the pitching staff. Fast-track a prospect or two in order to make sure that the end of the bench and bullpen is good enough to steal a win here and there.
Like it or not, there is no place in the current state of MLB for crafting a model that results in over a decade of division championships. In the current league setup, you’re either contending for a World Series title, or you’re bottoming out at the major league level while stocking up in the minors.
The teams that win 70-80 games are getting nothing in terms of postseason action and are put behind the 8-ball in terms of gaining new prospects by picking later in the draft.
The Braves are in danger of falling into that unproductive middle if the status quo continues. They’re far too talented and young to be a team that is undergoing a rebuild. So, it’s time to lean on the strategy that has produced so much success from Riley over the last couple of weeks.
Hit the gas pedal. Do whatever is necessary to find all of those extra wins over the next four months. The iron is hot, but you still have to strike it.
