Braves Need 2016 Freddie Freeman Again, Will They Get It?

The Atlanta Braves could have been a lot worse in 2016, but Freddie Freeman almost single handedly put a stop to that by transforming into an elite hitter.  Can he repeat this performance?

While the Braves have headed off on an October vacation, the MLB playoffs are off to an exciting bang.  The home stretch for baseball has begun.  Soon someone will be crowned champions, and free agency and the Hot Stove season will have begun.

But wedged in between those two somewhere is awards season; the annual debate club of Twitter wondering who will get snubbed for a Gold Glove by an inferior defender with a better bat (looking at you, Brandon Crawford), does a reliever deserve a Cy Young, and how do we justify not voting for Mike Trout this time?

But somewhere lost in those heated debates will likely be Freddie Freeman’s candidacy for the National League MVP award.  Because he plays for the Braves, a bottom 5 team in the major leagues.  But Freeman has arguably had the best offensive season by a Brave since Andruw Jones‘ 50 home run campaign back in 2005.

No, he won’t win.  And I don’t think he should.  Kris Bryant deserves that honor, and really you couldn’t go wrong with any order of Daniel Murphy, Corey Seager, and Freddie to follow.  But this isn’t an argument for Freddie MVP voting placement, or any variation of that argument.  This is all about Freddie and what it means for his future performance.