House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves: Review of NL East through 1/4 of the season

By Jake Mastroianni

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 28: Fans listen to a free concert before the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 28: Fans listen to a free concert before the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
ST. LOUIS, MO – MAY 7: Bryce  Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a grand slam in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 7, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas /Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – MAY 7: Bryce  Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a grand slam in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 7, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas /Getty Images) /

We are already 1/4 of the way through the season, so it’s time to take a quick look at how the Atlanta Braves stack up in the NL East.

The Atlanta Braves have not had the start to the 2019 season they hoped for, but not many teams in the NL East have.

Many thought the NL East had the chance to be one of the best divisions in all of baseball this year after all of the big time acquisitions made during the offseason.

That’s yet to be the case as the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are the only teams in the division with a winning record and positive run differential.

And honestly, the Atlanta Braves barely make that list as they’re just one game over .500 and have a run differential of +1.

Let’s take a look at the strength and weaknesses of each team, and what we can expect the rest of the way.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies are the only team in the NL East that has been consistently good all season.

And it’s not like they’ve played a soft schedule. They’ve played seven against the Marlins, two against the Tigers, and three against the Royals.

Strengths: The Phillies are doing just enough on offense and pitching as they’re eighth in runs scored and eighth in ERA.

They’re doing a great job of getting on base as they’re seventh with an OBP of .335.

Unlike the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies have done a good job of limiting walks as they’ve issued the ninth fewest walks with 130.

Thier starters have done a good job of going deep into games as they’re seventh in the league in innings pitched.

One thing the Phillies have been great at — and the Braves have not — is hitting with runners in scoring position. They’re fourth in the league with a .278 average with RISP, and they’ve scored the second most runs when hitting with RISP.

Weaknesses: I was very surprised to see that the Phillies are just 23rd in the league in home runs this season with 45. With the big boppers in that lineup, there is no reason they shouldn’t be in the top 10 — especially in that home ballpark.

They’re just 15th in the league in hitting at .247, but like I mentioned in the strengths, they’re getting timely hits. And they’re 16th in the league with an OPS of .748.

With a run differential of +42 you would expect their offensive numbers to be much better.

And despite how good their pitching staff has been, teams haven’t had trouble getting hits off them. They’re 23rd in the league in BAA.

They’re also not striking out a lot of batters with a K/9 of 8.49, which is 23rd best in the league. That’s not ideal for a team who has had their struggles on defense.

Home/Braves News