By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Atlanta Braves rebounded from a paltry and powerless 15-36 record through the first two months of the 2016 season to play competitive baseball in June and July, heading into the All-Star break with a 31-58 record.

Still, with multiple trades already completed and host of options remaining, the Braves figure to be one of the more active teams in the second half; both on the trade market and with intriguing minor-league decisions.

Let’s take a peek at some of the storylines we’ll be keeping an eye on through the next few months of Braves baseball.

First up, we have the ever-present shadow of the looming trade deadline. John Coppolella’s involvement in MLB’s various trade deadline discussions is all but a foregone conclusion.

Atlanta’s pivotal question becomes just how high is the front office willing to go? Three major names; Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino and Nick Markakis have come up in recent months and would warrant divergent returns.

Much like the 2015 deadline, veterans on one-year deals (Jim Johnson, Erick Aybar, Gordon Beckham, Jeff Francoeur, even Lucas Harrell) will be thrown around, but unless the Braves are willing to part with one of their big names or big prospects it could be a relatively unassuming deadline.

Speaking of Teheran, it will be fascinating to see him continue his incredible year. This is arguably the best Julio Teheran baseball has ever seen.

The 25-year-old right-hander’s slow start notwithstanding, the 2015 struggles have almost disappeared in the rearview mirror, clearing a path for a 2.96 ERA and 1.7 WAR through 18 starts.

He’s one of the better arms in the National League this season and, at 25 with a club-friendly deal, he should be valuable commodity for years to come.

Trade rumors continue to swirl, but the Braves might be better off hanging onto Teheran this summer, banking on a similar second half and either opening up trade talks across the league this offseason or heading into SunTrust Park with at least one proven arm.

One of the other bright spots on the roster is entrenched at first base. Given Freddie Freeman’s first-half numbers, it’s easy to gloss over the fact that, at one point, the 2016 season looked rather disappointing. Freeman’s bat was cold from April through a mid-June series against the Cubs … and then the 26-year-old took off.

Over the past month or so, he ranks fifth in WAR among all position players behind only All-Stars Josh Donaldson, Kris Bryant, Mike Trout and Anthony Rizzo. It’s no surprise the Braves offense improved dramatically once Freeman started raking, and it will need similar production as summer gives way to fall.

The last big lookout for me will be seeing if some of the highly touted prospects make their way up to the show by the end of the year, specifically Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies.

The Braves’ minor league super duo made headlines before the break by joining forces in Double A Mississippi.

Albies made the shift to second base and now it’s just a matter of time before the organization’s top two position prospects land in Atlanta. The question is, how much time?

There are financial considerations when starting a prospect’s MLB clock. If the Braves are aiming for the talented pair to earn big-league experience before the 2017 season, September (or sooner) might not be out of the question.

There may not be playoffs in the future for Atlanta, but there still will be plenty to look forward to in 2016.