Atlanta Braves 2017 Player Preview: Freddie Freeman
By Dan Horton
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is the subject of our next player preview. He is primed and poised for an MVP type 2017.
Yes, Freddie Freeman is one of two Atlanta Braves mainstays since 2013’s National League East Champ team. The other, of course, is Julio Teheran. They are the only two from 2013 not to leave the team in some fashion and return. And Freddie Freeman is poised and ready for a MVP caliber 2017!
The Past …
Freddie Freeman got off to a rough start in 2016. For a while, even Freeman himself was wondering if he’d ever get another hit.
His rocky March/April of .259/.368/.407/.776, led to an even rougher May. Freeman’s first half splits are night and day against one another.
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His OBP went from .373 to .433. He lit it up in the OPS and OPS+ categories as well. Going from an OPS of .866 to 1.072 was an amazing turn around. The OPS+, which is set to 100 as being the average, was a very below average.
Baseball Reference’s tOPS+ (or Total OPS+) in the first half was 84, but in the second half, he flipped that to a 124 tOPS+.
You could argue that Freddie had one of the most biggest comebacks in baseball last season, after starting out so slow. It’s this kind of second half production that I hope carries over into 2017.
The Present …
The beginning of 2017 doesn’t have me as worried as last year’s first couple of months unfolded. However, with the World Baseball Classic underway, and having already seen Kansas City’s Salvador Perez being helped off the field the other day, always has me a little cautious.
I love the atmosphere and pride that goes into the WBC. But with meaningful games being played in March, you can’t help but watch with trepidation as Freeman goes out there. I understand the pride behind it.
NOTE: Prior to writing, the Canadian team had not been eliminated from WBC. Since then, the Canadians lost and in turn, bounced from WBC. Freddie returns to the Braves, unscathed. All is well.
All it takes is one giant swing and miss to pull an oblique. One legging out of a triple that should have just stayed a double and a hamstring pops. No one really likes to talk about it, but it is always a possibility. That’s the present cautiousness at the moment (not just for Freddie, but for all involved).
Freeman (playing for Canada) hopefully gets the at bats he needs to be ready to help the Braves be more competitive in 2017. If he can pick up the hot stick of 2016’s closing, and carries it into 2017’s opening (getting out of the WBC injury free), then I think it is not impossible that the Braves have a winning Apr/May that sets the tone for the remainder of the year.
The Bold Prediction
I’m going to say it now. Freddie Freeman ended 2016 with the kind of August and September that usually produces a plaque with the letters M – V – P on it. Yes, I truly believe if Freeman maintains a consistent, productive year, like how he ended 2016, he walks away from the 2017 National League Most Valuable Player.
This year, I believe he actually gets voted in as the starting first baseman in the All-Star Game for the NL. I think he hits 30 home runs again and drives in over 100 RBI. I think, in short, Freddie Freeman is primed for a career year. A year that elevates him to one of the game’s top 5, if not top 3 first basemen.
The Future …
Freddie Freeman looks poised and ready to be the next face of the Atlanta Braves’ long lineage of greatness. I expect, in the not too distant future, to see a big red number 5 hanging in between a big red number 3 and a big red number 6 on Sun Trust Park facade.
Call me crazy, but my gut has this weird feeling, this feeling like something amazing is going to happen for Freddie Freeman in 2017 … then again, that could just be the Cheddar Jalapeño Brats I had for dinner.