Tomahawk Take Writers’ Picks: Atlanta Braves Opening Day Roster
Here is our no-holds-barred forecast of your 2016 Atlanta Braves Opening Day roster.
Life is full of uncertainty. Not so much so as the 2016 incarnation of the Braves, of course. That would be crazy.
The writers here at Tomahawk Take have been avidly analyzing and predicting the wildly spinning revolutions of the Rebuild during the months since it began. The crystal ball has afforded varying degrees of clarity along the way. One thing is certain heading into 2016, though; very little is certain.
Fear not! Onward we go!
I’ve only been on board here at TT for a few weeks, but I have succeeded in pestering everyone into submitting their predictions for who the Braves will fill the dugout with on Opening Day.
Without further ado…
Here are the Tomahawk Take 2016 roster predictions, broken down by writer and position category. Enjoy!
There are some interesting trends up there, eh dear reader? Just in case some of these names look a little alien to your eyes, here is a list of Braves non-roster invitees. You can navigate to the 40-man and 25-man from there, as well.
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A few observations…
- There is a group of rotation hopefuls that we clearly couldn’t agree on: Ryan Weber, Jhoulys Chacin, Kyle Kendrick and Manny Banuelos are mixed and matched throughout.
- The bullpen is a complete toss-up after Jason Grilli, Jim Johnson, and Arodys Vizcaino. The Rule 5 picks made a strong showing (Daniel Winkler and Evan Rutckyj), but we couldn’t agree on which veterans to believe in, which lefties would make the cut, or even how many arms we’d carry in the pen.
- Unsurprisingly, we were all over the place with what will happen with our bench hopefuls on the bubble. Emilio Bonifacio and Kelly Johnson jockeyed for position, while some of our writers speculated about a Nick Swisher and/or Michael Bourn trade before the season starts.
Next: Mallex Smith Dazzles in Second Spring Game
Catch up on the many Braves Spring Training story lines from my 3-part Guide to Spring Training Drama: Position Players, Starting Pitchers, and Bullpen.
Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comment section!