Atlanta Braves Player of the Week: Freddie Freeman
By Jeff Schafer
So far throughout the winter months and then through the start of spring training, writers, announcers, fans and it seems everyone else have had plenty to talk about when referencing the Atlanta Braves. With all the talk heading in the direction of the Upton brothers coming to Atlanta, Jason Heyward being the new face of the organization, Andrelton Simmons being our lead off hitter and his performance in the World Baseball Classic, Evan Gattis destroying MLB pitching, the 25 man roster, the starting rotation…I could go on and on but one man who has seem to stay under the radar and could be for good reasoning, is Freddie Freeman.
March 17, 2013; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) drives in a run against the New York Mets in the spring training game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Staying under the radar and not being talked about sometimes isn’t a bad thing. It can be an example of a player going out and getting the job done. And that is just want Freeman has been doing this spring. Since we like to find stories others aren’t looking into, let’s dive into the Freddie Freeman 2013 spring training.
Freddie is heading into his third full season at the major league level. Only 23-years-old, most are anticipating big production from Freeman in 2013. He’s came out of the gates on a tear in Florida, racking up 22 hits in 59 at bats to have a .373 batting average so far. Freddie has already collected seven home runs and 15 RBI’s in only the 20 games he has played. But that’s his collective stats for the entire spring training. I’ve selected Freddie Freeman as my player of the week during the week of 3/15 – 3/22.
During this last week, Freddie Free has gone 7-14 with four HR’s and eight RBI’s. The best sign that I’ve seen from him so far is he’s hitting the ball to all sides of the field. His home run the other day went into the grass seating area at Champion Stadium in left field. Freeman likes to hit the gaps weather its right center or left center and usually when a player can do this, he’s ready for the season to begin.
At this point, Freeman will be slotted in the 4 hole for the Braves lineup. Depending how he does there until Brian McCann gets healthy, he should be in line to pick up lots of RBI’s…hell, where ever he hits he should have the opportunity to drive in many runs.
It’s exciting to see the Braves offense splurge with runs over the past week and this offense should carry over to the regular season. And look for Freddie Freeman to be a main contributor of the 2013 Atlanta Braves offense.
DATEOPP
AB
R
H
TB
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
IBB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
NYM
3
1
1
4
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
.333
.353
.625
@NYM
4
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
.327
.345
.596
PHI
3
2
1
4
0
0
1
2
1
0
1
0
0
.327
.356
.636
PIT
4
3
4
11
1
0
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
.373
.397
.780