It’s that time of the year and I can’t seem to get baseball of the brain. Fantasy leagues are starting up (shoutout to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), the blogs are buzzing, and analysts and fans alike are churning out predictions. So now it’s my turn. First of all, I want to say that I have never been as excited for a Braves season. The team is young, talented, and if everyone stays relatively healthy and plays to their potential it should be a great season. With a revamped lineup and a rotation of healthy arms (knock on wood) I honestly believe that the 2011 Atlanta Braves will be one of the top teams in baseball this year.
At backstop, we have one of the best in the game: Brian “yes I’m fat” McCann. The guy has always had power and can hit for a decent average, but his .360 OBP is really impressive for a catcher. I’m looking to see McCann get more plate appearances this year and thus get on base more. His backup, David Ross, has always been a solid hitter and is a great defensive player. He would be starting on any other team, but unfortunately for him he has a legend taking his spot.
Freddie Freeman is the starting highly touted “rookie” first baseman. He was average to shitty in the few games he played in last year, but I’m expecting big things this season. To be honest, the team needs him to do big things. Perhaps the best contact hitter on the team, Freeman is currently batting a middling .259 in Spring Training, which is a little troubling, but I would bet the kid gets it together and puts together a solid full season. I’m hoping he’ll hit over .275, which might get him a Rookie of the Year nod, and keeping his great potential in mind I’m excited to see how all the facets of his game develop.
Starting at second is the Braves biggest offseason pickup Dan Uggla. Uggla sucked in Florida but has a career .347 batting average at Turner Field. See why I’m excited? He’s a masher who hits for power, not average, but he fits perfectly in the middle of Atlanta’s lineup. Left field is a little further away than it was in Sun Life Stadium, but we should still expect around 30 bombs and a slugging pct. over(?) .500.
Alex Gonzalez looks to be the Braves’ everyday shortstop and saying that he’s probably the weakest offensive player in the infield is saying something. He’s not a great hitter, but showed signs of power potential at the beginning of last season (career high HR: 23). That was for the Jays though, and when he got to Turner his stats all declined; in basically the same number of games he had 11 more home runs and his BA was 19 points higher. Still, he’s a great defensive player who can round out the end of a batting order and is always a threat to pop off a double or a homer.
Starting at third base, for the Atlanta Braves, the man, the legend: Chipper Jones. After a heartbreaking ACL tear midway through last season, Chipper is back on the diamond making barehanded grabs and knocking balls all around the outfield. He’s currently dominating spring training, batting a blazing .420 (haha…) and piling up doubles, homers, and RBI’s. I love Chipper. One of the greatest third baseman to ever play the game is ready to come back strong. Not quite to his godlike .350/.466/.590 performance in 07-08, but I am expecting him to exceed his career averages of .306/.405/.536. Yeah, he’s that good.
Now for the outfield. Left field is being patrolled, most likely poorly, by Martin Prado. Making the shift from second base, Martin is coming off his best full season in the majors and I’m expecting him to continue his excellent contact hitting and hover around over his career .307 average. If he can do that and maintain his power numbers from last year (15 bombs, 66 RBI’s, 40 doubles) I’ll love him even more. He’s a small guy and will never put up numbers like other big name left fielders but any increase in his power would make him a surprising and increasingly effective offensive weapon.
To quote the Capital Avenue Club: “Jason Heyward is the man.” A five-tool outfielder who was in the run for Rookie of the Year last year, Heyward’s potential seems limitless. He was hindered by a nagging thumb injury in 2010, but if he’s healthy he seems primed to have an amazing sophomore season after his “hindered” .277, 18 bombs, 77 RBI’s. I’m gonna go ahead and predict a spectacular season of .319/.412/.514. That’s out of nowhere and with no real basis other than hope, but if you don’t know about Jason Heyward by now, you will this season as he should cements his place as one of the best young players in the game.
Center field. Ugh. Once patrolled by the always exciting and least-clutch-player-of-all-time Andruw Jones, we have turned to Nate McLouth. Damn it. Perhaps the biggest question mark in the Braves lineup is the speedy 30-year old from Pittsburgh. He had a great year in 2008 and then promptly, for lack of a better word, sucked after his move to Atlanta. Coming off an abysmal season where he batted .190 and spent half the year in the minors, he’s hitting solidly in spring training and I’m feeling good about him. I’m issuing a challenge: impress me. Please.
Saving the best for last: the pitching. This year we have one of the best rotations in baseball. Just sayin’. Starting with the much-discussed relief situation, I can say that the only certainty is that we need to trade Scott Proctor; he’s terrible. Moylan and O’Flaherty are very solid middle relievers, but the gems are Johnny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. While the plan is to initially splitting closing duties, I fully expect Kimbrel to assume all the responsibilities by the end of the year. Venters is a great pitcher and I think he’ll serve as a dominant setup man with great stuff and a proclivity for groundballs. Kimbrel is my dude and an all-around monster. When’s the last time you saw freakish dominance like this: 40 K’s in 20 innings, 1.21 WHIP, 0.44 ERA. If he can improve his control and keep the walks down he’ll develop into one of the best closers in baseball.
Oh, and the starting rotation’s not bad either: Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor/Brandon Beachy. Tim Hudson came back from elbow surgery last year far better than anyone expected, finishing 17-9 with a 2.83 ERA. Not much more to say. He’s great and I have no reason not to expect more of the same. Derek Lowe is 2-0 on opening day for the Braves and he’ll be taking the mound in just a couple weeks looking to continue his excellent performance from the end of last season. Always a solid 2 or 3 in the rotation, he took his game to a whole new level in September: 5-0 in his last 5 starts with a 1.17 ERA. If he can come even close to that sort of dominance I would be thrilled.
It’s that kid: Tommy “Tommy Boy” Hanson. One of my favorite Braves ever, I will once again hope that this is the year he breaks out. I said that last year and then he got little to no run support and was overworked down the stretch. An ace in the making, Hanson posted a disappointing 10-11 record (pathetic run support) and an impressive 3.33 ERA last year. If luck goes his way and he continues to improve, I’m expecting big things. I’m calling it now: 20 wins, breakout year.
Then there’s the ever-fragile Jurrjens. If he can stay healthy I’ll be happy, but I’ll be even happier if he can post numbers like he did in 2009: 14-10, 2.60 ERA. I doubt that will happen, but if he stays healthy he’s a force to be reckoned with and an outstanding number 4 starter.
Beachy and Minor are very similar pitchers and both put in some quality starts for the Braves in 2010. Both are young and talented but Minor is going to get the 5th spot due to his superior stuff and his numbers before his arm got fatigued last year. Beachy is also very solid and gave the Braves a surprising boost out of nowhere late in 2010. He should serve as an excellent 6th option who can replace any of the other ailing starters for a game or two. I would also not be surprised if he is traded at some point, as Atlanta has two of the best-rated pitchers in the minors who should hit the majors in a year or two: the mythical Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado.
Last pitching note: Hopefully someone murders Kenshin Kawakami, I don’t really see any other use for him. He is one of the biggest, saddest wastes of space in baseball.
So that’s that. I have made my expectations clear and I think I’ve elucidated some concerns. Biggest Questions: Will McLouth finally get it together? Will Jurrjens stay healthy? Will Hanson and Kimbrel finally reach their immense potential? Will Chipper hit? What will Freeman do with all the pressure on him?
Predictions: I think the Braves are an underrated team and I would not at all be shocked if they claim the NL East over the Phillies. Fuck Philadelphia. At the very least, I’m expecting a Wild Card berth. It’s an exciting time of the year, it’s an exciting team, get pumped, let’s go! Opening Day is just 8 days away and it couldn’t come sooner.
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