Washington Nationals
Let The Kids Play
By: Buck Blanz
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After watching the Braves vs. Nationals, I began to think about the same debate that has gone on since the two made their Major League Debut in 2018.
Who would you prefer as a centerpiece for your baseball franchise, Ronald Acuná Jr. or Juan Soto?
Juan Soto hit a walkoff single to win the Season Opener for the Washington Nationals and extend the Braves losing streak to four games.
In that same game Acuña hit two solo shot homers off of Max Scherzer and one of those being the first pitch of the ball game.
Acuña has played a pivotal role in the Braves three consecutive division championships, whereas Juan Soto was a key contributor for the Nationals World Series victory over the Houston Astros in 2019.
Juan Soto is just about 10-months younger than Ronald Acuña Jr. and both have had an immense impact on their teams, as well as sending ripples throughout the MLB with their top-tier talent displayed on the field.
Their MLB debuts were both within a month of one another and neither of the two have looked back since… so why not take a look and see how they stack up against one another at the beginning of their fourth season.
Ronald Acuña Jr.: Career Stats: .281 AVG/.371 OBP/.911 OPS, 83 Home Runs, 61 Doubles, 198 RBI’s, with 63 Stolen Bases.
Throughout Acuna’s time in Atlanta, he is probably most known for his spark and swagger while he plays the game.
As a result, the Braves coaching staff decided to insert Ronald at the top of the batting lineup in order to ‘get the ball rolling’ and it’s fair to say it works more often than not.
Ronald gets a lot of respect at the plate but that often results in the fans overlooking what he is capable of in the outfield. With his terrific speed and a cannon for an arm, Acuña is consistently a threat to throw anyone out from his position in right field.
Which is just further proof of why Acuña is consistently in the mix for a National League MVP, along with his teammate Freedie Freeman the 2020 National League MVP.
There is no doubt about the electricity Ronald provides Braves Country but the downside for Acuña would be that his arrogance gets the best of the 23-year-old at times.
Most say that will come with time as he will mature throughout his career in Atlanta.
However, Acuña has already acquired outstanding awards such as the NL Rookie of the Year in 2018 as well as the Silver Slugger Award in 2019 and 2020.
Juan Soto: Career Stats: .285 AVG/.416 OBP/.971 OPS, 69 Home Runs, 71 Doubles, 218 RBI’s, with just 24 Stolen Bases.
After being a runner-up to Acuna’s rookie of the year honors in 2018, Soto has been one of the most dependable guys on a daily basis in all of baseball.
He put his name on the map with his performances throughout the 2019 postseason, where the Nationals won their first and only World Series Title with the help of Soto’s clutch performances.
Soto delivered again and again for Washington in that playoff run and continues to play well under the spotlight.
Soto is much better at waiting for his pitch than Acuña is, helping him to his impressive on base percentage at .416 through his career thus far.
However, the biggest difference between these two players would be speed.
Soto is just not able to match the speed and strength that Acuna brings to the table each night.
At the same time, Soto’s poise on the big stage, as well as his calm demeanor is what seems to make him slightly more attractive to some people than Acuña.
Safe to say that both these outstanding outfielders are two of the best in the game, but who would you rather build your baseball club around, Acuña or Soto?
4-Peat?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NL East is the best overall division in Major League Baseball.
The Braves, Mets, and Nationals could all finish over .500 on the season. In 2019 the last full season before the pandemic four teams finished at .500 or better in this stacked division.
Let take a look at each team:
Miami Marlins: The Marlins made the playoffs in the pandemic shortened season of 2020, and eliminated the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs before the Braves ended their season.
This team has one of the top farm systems in baseball and just continues to produce talent.
Sixto Sanchez is one of the best young pitchers in baseball. Starling Marte is an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in the outfield and will be surrounded by all of that younger talent. This team will continue to improve.
Washington Nationals: The Nationals won the World Series in 201, and finished last in the division in 2020.
They still have Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin in this rotation, so they will be in just about every game.
Juan Soto is a superstar and they have Kyle Schwarber and Josh Bell potentially surrounding him in the line-up. How will this bullpen perform in 2021? That is the question surrounding this team.
Philadelphia Phillies: This team has spent a lot of money on free agents over the past couple of seasons but still floats around the .500 mark in the standings.
Bryce Harper is only 28 years old and will probably have a monster season and you have J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius.
The core is there, but will this pitching staff hold up? Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have to have great seasons for this team to contend.
NY Mets: The Mets have become the trendy pick by most everyone to win the NL East.
Can this team be consistent enough to win the division? That is a huge question mark in my mind.
Pete Alonzo will probably hit 40+ HR’s, and the Francisco Lindor trade was huge offensively and defensively.
Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, and Marcus Stroman will lead this pitching staff. This team has good pitching and will hit a lot of HR’s.
Something to watch down the stretch is can Noah Syndergaard return this summer from his Tommy John surgery? If he does and is effective then this could tilt the NL East in the Mets favor.
Atlanta Braves: We all know the Braves are one of the best teams in baseball. Freddie Freeman is the reigning MVP and Ronald Acuna Jr. is a young superstar.
The Braves resigned Marcell Ozuna. The Braves signed Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly to beef up the starting rotation.
How quickly can Mike Soroka regain form in 2021 after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon last season?
Can Kyle Wright be the starter the Braves envisioned when they drafted him?
The everyday line-up is the best in the division if the Braves play Cristian Pache in CF.
Who will grab the closer job?
My NL East Predictions:
Atlanta Braves: 93-69
NY Mets: 91-71
Washington Nationals: 88-74
Miami Marlins: 78-84
Philadelphia Phillies: 75-87
I see the Braves winning the NL East in the last weekend of the regular season.
The NL East Beast
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Climbing the mountain to attain a division championship in Major League Baseball is tough. Maintaining superiority and defending a division title is even tougher.
But doing so while still trying to figure out a way to get to – and win – a World Series is as challenging as it gets.
That’s the problem facing the Atlanta Braves this winter.
The Braves surprised all of baseball by taking the NL East in 2018. Last season, Atlanta was a known power and excelled despite many more expectations placed on it to defend its division crown.
However, the postseason result remained the same as the Braves were bounced in the divisional series for a second straight year.
Heading into 2020, there is no doubt that the Braves will be a contender once again. The young guys who have emerged over the last couple of seasons are now entering their primes, while others like Freddie Freeman, Mike Foltynewicz and Nick Markakis are grizzled and reliable veterans playing at a high level.
Everything suggests that the Braves will be as good as ever and recent signings of Cole Hamels and Will Smith can only help. However, they might also find themselves in the day-to-day fire of competing in the best division in baseball.
Obviously, the elephant in the room is the Washington Nationals. The Nats couldn’t top the Braves in the regular season, but got the last laugh in winning the World Series.
The Nationals re-signing of Stephen Strasburg meant they would let All-Star third-baseman, Anthony Rendon walk, but Washington is more concerned with how healthy they can be.
The main reason for their second-place finish in the NL East last season was that it took two months for the team to get healthy. Once everyone was in place, the Nationals had the best record in all of baseball.
The New York Mets are in a similar spot. It seems as if the Mets have been terminally bitten by the injury bug as they have been underachieving and often short-handed for most of the last three seasons.
That said, New York still has an imposing starting rotation and could easily get into a division race if its bats can stay in the lineup all season.
Then there are the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils won the 2018 offseason by signing Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen, while trading for J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura.
However, injuries plagued McCutchen and Segura, while nearly the entire bullpen was lost due to various ailments.
Philadelphia continues to dole out money as it has already signed pitcher Zack Wheeler and shortstop Didi Gregorious.
Aside from the still-rebuilding Marlins, there is no reason for any of the other four teams in the division to expect anything less than a winning record and a serious run at the postseason.
If the division proves to be as competitive on the field as it appears on paper, the Braves figure to have a bit of an advantage in that their roster is stocked with guys who have thrived down the stretch in division races the last two seasons.
Then again, the Braves were also the healthiest of the top four division finishers last season and could face a very different situation if they are forced to battle through constant lineup changes.
With winter approaching, baseball may seem a long way off, but a big part of every championship season occurs in November and December when pieces are shifted around by squads in hopes of solving the World Series puzzle.
It’s been a long time since the Braves’ ridiculous run of 14 consecutive division championships and the ways of baseball have changed to where even truly great teams might only have a window of a few years in which they can compete for a World Series.
This is that moment for Atlanta and the front office is clearly going for it. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how things play out.
