By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Like any losing team, the Atlanta Braves had an overabundance of disappointments during 2017.

Especially given that a few years back, 2017 and the opening of the new stadium was pegged to be the year that the then-rebuilding Bravos would begin to compete again.

As 2017 inched closer, those paying attention knew that wasn’t going to be the case but with 2016 ending on a high note with an offense firing on all cylinders there was potentially plenty to look forward to. So as the season wraps up this week, let’s look at a few positives and negatives from the season.

Positive: The young position players.

Dansby Swanson was picked by several pundits as the Rookie of the Year before the campaign began and maybe some of that pressure got into the young short stop’s head. He struggled at the plate and in field at the beginning of the season. That led to a brief demotion to Triple A during the second half but with the expectations lowered upon his return, Swanson has played well since being called back up.

The reason for both his demotion and return was Johan Camargo. The young infielder burst onto the scene, putting up excellent offensive numbers in his own rookie campaign.

He played so well that Swanson was displaced as the starting short stop, though an injury that sidelined Camargo necessitated Swanson being placed back into the lineup much earlier than expected. Camargo has continued to hit since healing and will likely be the favorite to start 2018 in the lineup at third base.

2017 also saw the long-awaited debut of Ozzie Albies and he did not disappoint. He’s made spectacular plays at second base and has hit the ball well at the dish. His speed and awareness in the field and on the base paths have impressed as well.

Allowing for a little competition at third with Rio Ruiz during spring training, the 2018 Braves infield looks like it could develop into a force to be reckoned with.

Negative: The pitching isn’t there yet.

The Braves have pitching prospects. So many pitching prospects. It’s a good thing too, because the pitching in 2017 just wasn’t where it should be.

All of the established starters (Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, R.A. Dickey) have been alternately brilliant and hard to watch, depending on the stretch. However, they weren’t the reason people have been excited for Braves pitching over the past few years.

There has been plenty of good to see in the pitchers that Atlanta has brought up from the minors to make starts in 2017.

Sean Newcomb has a great arm but hasn’t been able to keep the Braves in a lot of his games. Lucas Sims throws more strikes than Newcomb but his ERA is nearly a full run higher.

Max Fried has made one good start and one rough start, and Luiz Gohara showed off why he was a called up in only one of his three starts so far. These guys are good, but need to take steps forward next year if they don’t want to go the way of Aaron Blair.

Positive: Kurt Suzuki & Tyler Flowers.

Nothing like two scrap heap pick-ups to put up gaudy numbers. They’ve got 29 home runs and 96 RBI between the two of them with a week to go. Suzuki was just signed for next year. Is this production repeatable? Doubtful, but even half would be good enough.

Looking ahead: The negatives will be outshone.

The great thing about having one million pitching prospects is that only two or three need to pan out as being excellent. The rest of the rotation can be filled with merely the good.

With the likes of Albies and the upcoming Ronald Acuna, this team next year should really make some waves. They may still be a year away from truly contending, but they could also be capable of surprising.