Atlanta Braves Morning Chop – Projections and Personnel
NL East preview: Preseason look at Atlanta Braves
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What to expect:
Coming off only their third losing season since 1991, the Braves will look radically different when they take the field on Opening Day 2015. Gone are three of the Braves’ top four leaders in OPS, as
Justin Uptonwas dealt to San Diego,
Evan Gattiswas shipped to the Astros, and former All-Star
Jason Heywardwas traded to St. Louis.
Two-time All-Star Freddie Freeman, with his triple-slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) of .288/.386/.461 is the lone returning offensive threat for Atlanta, as Chris Johnson, B.J. Upton and fielding wizard Andrelton Simmons all posted disastrous, sub-.300 on-base percentages in 2014.
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Gomes, 34, is a part-timer in a best-case scenario for the Braves. His OPS+, which adjusts for ballpark differences, was 87 last season, ranking in the bottom 10 for corner outfielders who had at least as many plate appearances as him (321).
The pitching staff has been reloaded with youngsters after the team traded some of its veterans hitters this winter. Julio Teheran (2.89 ERA, 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 2014) returns as Atlanta’s top starter, fresh off his first All-Star appearance in just his second full season in the bigs. At 24, Teheran is just beginning to fulfill the promise that led Baseball America to name him one of the minor’s top-five prospects in both 2011 and 2012.
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Four-time NL saves leader Craig Kimbrel, he of the minuscule 1.43 career ERA, is locked up through 2018 and remains the best reliever in the majors. With a one-two punch of Teheran and Miller, along with Kimbrel out of the ‘pen, Atlanta should have one of the better groups of pitchers in 2015, with the potential for even better results in the years to come, depending on how much Teheran and Miller reach their ceilings.
Prediction: Despite the excitement of the Teheran/Miller duo, the Braves’ offense will still struggle mightily in 2015, with their lackluster offense holding them down. Atlanta will finish in fourth place in the NL East for the first time since 2008 and will post two-consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1989-90.
Projected Stats for 9 Braves in 2015
MLB.com projected 2015 stats for more than 800 players in baseball, and ranked each player based on their possible output (along with their current fantasy value). Here is where nine Atlanta Braves players fall among other baseball stars:
[ Ed. note: 2014 results are added in [brackets]. Five of the projections are shown below – see the link for the rest ]
Freddie Freeman questions your projections. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
No. 44, FREDDIE FREEMAN, 1B: Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman led the majors with a 34 percent line-drive rate in 2014, according to MLB.com. In addition he walked in a career-high 12.7 percent of his plate appearances. MLB projects Freeman will see a boost in power, but will, however, see fewer at-bats (562) [607]. He is projected to raise his batting average to .295 [.288] with 91 hits, 23 homers [18], 88 RBIs [78] and a bumped up .378 OBP [.386] and .489 [.461] slugging percentage.
No. 66, JULIO TEHERAN, RHP: Julio Teheran posted a 2.89 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in 221 innings in his first full season as a Braves starter. The 24-year-old had the 11th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.6) in the National League and is projected to have another stellar year in 2015 by MLB: 14-11 [14-13]/3.39 ERA/191 K’s [186] across 218 [221] innings.
No. 226, SHELBY MILLER, RHP: The Braves acquired Shelby Miller from the Cardinals in the trade for outfielder Jason Heyward (No. 27 in MLB’s rankings). Miller is coming off a down year in which he went 10-9, with a 3.74 ERA in 183 innings. The 24-year-0ld right hander is projected by MLB to finish 2015 with a 11-12 record, 3.69 ERA, 160 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched.
No. 323, ANDRELTON SIMMONS, SS: One of baseball’s best defensive players, Andrelton Simmon’s offense draw as much praise. After two straight seasons of a below-.300 on-base percentage, Simmons is projected to spike it t0 .303 [.286] while hitting .251 [.244] with 12 homers [7], 56 [46] RBIs and an improved .679 OPS [.617].
No. 427, B.J. UPTON, OF: Since his arrival from Tampa two seasons ago, B.J. Upton has produced 21 homers, 32 stolen bases, along with a paltry .198 batting average. After posting the fifth-worst contact rate (66.4 percent) in the majors in 2014, MLB sees a better 2015 and projects Upton will finish 2015 with a .219 [.208] batting average, 55 runs [67], 10 homers [12], 35 RBIs [same], 17 [20] stolen bases and a healthier .293 [.287] on-base percentage.
Braves Bring Back Walker and McGriff
BILL SHANKS / BRAVES.SCOUT.COM
Last year’s offensive nightmare was far from Greg Walker‘s fault, but to avoid any controversy Walker resigned as hitting coach following the 2014 season. But thankfully, the Braves have brought him back to join the staff.
Walker will work with some of the Braves minor leaguers during spring training and then travel to the minor league affiliates during the season. He served three seasons (2012-2014) as Atlanta’s minor league hitting coach.
The fact Walker is remaining in the organization speaks volumes about how he is viewed by the front office and the rest of the staff. Walker, who still lives near his hometown of Douglas, Georgia, had expressed a desire to remain with the organization.
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McGriff will be a spring training instructor and then during the regular season focus on Pro Scouting. McGriff spent last year as an adviser to the Toronto Blue Jays. He also spent several seasons in the Tampa Bay organization.
Former Atlanta Braves slugger apologizes for ‘irresponsible’ tweets
Former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones apologized Saturday for a tweet he made questioning the credibility of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.
Jones tweeted Friday “So the FBI comes out and confirms that Sandy Hook was a hoax! Where’s the outrage? What else are we being lied to about? Waco? JFK? Pfff…”
The 19-year-old baseball veteran called his tweet “irresponsible” after saying he “heard something from someone which I thought to be credible and tweeted w/out researching.” He then said it was responsible of him and he offered an apology to those he affected.