MLB Season Preview: Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves


Last Season's Standing: The naysayers were right for a change as after 14 straight NL East titles, the Atlanta Braves finished 3rd in the NL East going 79-83, including .500 in their last ten games.

In: LF Doug Clark (prev. team: Oakland A's); CF Willie Harris (prev. team: Boston Red Sox); C Corky Miller (prev. team: Boston Red Sox); RP Tanyon Sturtze (prev. team: NY Yankees); 1B Craig Wilson (prev. team: NY Yankees); SS Chris Woodward (prev. team: NY Mets); SP Oscar Villarreo; RP Mike Gonzalez (via trade w/ Pittsburgh Pirates); SS Brent Lillibridge (via trade w/ Pittsburgh Pirates); RP Rafael Soriano (via trade w/ Seattle Mariners)

Out: RP Danys Baez (mew team: Baltimore Orioles); RP Wayne Franklin (new team: Kansas City Royals); 2B Marcus Giles (new team: San Diego Padres); C Todd Pratt (new team: NY Yankees); RP Chris Reitsma (new team: Seattle Mariners); RP Jason Shiell (new team: Kansas City Royals); RP Travis Smith (new team: LA Dodgers); SP John Thompson (new team: Toronto Blue Jays); 1B Daryle Ward (new team: Chicago Cubs); 1B Adam LaRoche (via trade w/ Pittsburgh Pirates); 3B Jamie Romak (via trade w/ Pittsburgh Pirates); RP Horacio Ramirez (via trade w/ Seattle Mariners)

Starting Pitching: Staff ace John Smoltz is entering his 19th season in the majors, his second as the Braves ace. Smoltz will be looking to equal or better his 16-9 record with a good 3.49 ERA. Hs first pitch is usually predictable (fastball) and thus first-pitch hitters can have success against him. He's good pitching out of the stretch and should do well most games. Next up in the rotation will be sinker-baller groundball pitcher Tim Hudson. He must be able to maintain control of his emotions on the mound or he could find himself exiting the game prematurely after getting tossed by the umpire. Occasionally, Hudson will struggle when facing a left-handed batter. Hudson was 13-12 with a decent 4.86 ERA. He should be able to keep the scoring low, it's just a question as to whether the team can provide enough run support. One of two southpaws in the rotation, Mike Hampton should get the ball third in the rotation. Hampton is coming off Tommy John surgery and his health is a concern. He may not even be ready for the start of the season. Chuck James is enterin what should be his first full season in the majors. He might have made that jump last season, except he missed a month to a hamstring injury and was sent to the minors for a conditioning assignment. Surprisingly struggles against lefties (especially since he's a lefty himself). The middle innings are the curse for James. James was 11-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 25 appearances, 18 of those were starts. The fifth and final starters spot is pencilled into Kyle Davies, who is coming off a torn groin injury in which he missed three and a half months; he never received another chance to start in the majors after the injury. He's most suited to be a starter, but has difficulty getting out of the gate in starts (first innings are a nightmare for Davies). He has a tendency to be bitten by the longball. He was 3-7 with a brutal 8.38 ERA in 14 starts in '06.


Bullpen: The Braves have the luxury of having 2 pitchers who are capable of saving tight ball games in the ninth inning. In all likelihood Bob Wickman will receive the ball in the ninth inning. For him, movement of his pitches is key to success. He went 1-6, but accumulated 33 saves last season and allowed 2.67 runs per inning in 57 appearances. He will need to match that pace if the Braves are to succeed in '07. Mike Gonzalez can also produce and close out games effectively, but look for him to be a primary set-up man to Wickman. The southpaw Gonzalez went 3-4 and collected 24 saves and a 2.17 ERA in 54 appearances before being shut down at the end of August because of tendinitis in his pitching elbow. He'll be looking to prove to management that he is healthy again. Gonzalez is not effective when pitching consecutive days and he has some control problems. Can pitch to either lefties or righties equally effective and has a hard fastball and slider. Against great odds, Peter Moyln is attempting to make the Braves either as a setup man or a middle reliever. Moylan's development was hurt as he missed 3 entire seasons from 2001-2003 recovering from Tommy John surgery. What makes his task even more difficult is that he was undrafted when he was signed by the Minnesota Twins. Becuase he has just 15 games of MLB experience, expect him to start the season in Richmond unless he completely dominates in spring training, thereby forcing management to give him a roster spot. The trade acquisition and signing of Rafael Soriano was a great move by the Braves. He is a pitcher who can blow hitters away, when healthy. He'll be looking to remain healthy this season (he missed 47 games to various injuries, including the final 30 to a concussion). Soriano was 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 53 games played. Look for him to come into the ball game in the 7th or 8th innings to help setup up the closer. Oscar Villarreal is looking to make this squad as a middle/long reliever. He can make spot starts which should give him somewhat of an edge. However, Villarreal has also battled injuries and inconsistency, missing all of 2005 with a torn rotator cuff. He struggles to get ahead in the count. Villarreal was 9-1with a 3.61 ERA in 58 appearances. Look for him to make the team as a long-middle reliever and possible fifth starter. Macey McBride should be a lefty specialist out of Bobby Cox's 'pen. McBride missed the first month of the '06 season to a strained foreman, but still had a decent season going 4-1 eith a 3.65 ERA in 71 appearances. Right-handed hitters have a ball against him and he has command issues. Look for McBride to pitch anywhere from a batter to four or five batters/outing depending on the line-up that day. Tyler Yates should crack this bullpen and be utilized as a middle reliever. Yates has emotional problems and needs to learn to be even keel no matter how good or bad things are going. He was 2-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 56 GP last season. Chad Paronto will be looking to build on his rookie year in which he went 2-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 65 appearances. He'll also be looking for his first full season in the majors. Paronto must perfect his sinker, which doesn't dip enough resulting in balls leaving the park. He must also improve against left-handed batters. Blaine Boyle had a rough seasoon last year as he managed just 2 thirds of an inning in which his ERA was a brutal 40.50. He missed all but two games to shoulder surgery and will be looking to prove to management that his shoulder is healthy again. Look for Boyle to start the season in Richmond as rehab and to gain confidence. Rightie Lance Cormier stands a decent shot of making the Braves roster as a middle reliever /spot starter. Cormier was 4-5 with a 4.89 ERA in 29 appearances (5 of them starts). He'll be looking for his first full season in the majors. Finally, Joey Devine will be looking to round out the bullpen, although due to lack of experience, look for him to start the season in AAA Richmond. Devine had a horrible 9.91 ERA in 10 GP in '06.

Catcher: Brian McCann, a solid offensive catcher enters his second season as the Braves #1 backstop. He hit .333 last season, including 24 HR and 93 RBI. He's a slow runner and needs to work on his footwork behind the plate. He has a bright future and should play between 120-130 games this season and bat 7th in the line-up. Backing him up will be Brayan Pena who is entering his first full season in the majors. He hit .268 with 1 HR and 5 RBI last season.

First Baseman: Over at first bae things get interesting with veteran Craig Wilson likely getting the majority of the starts. He hit .251 with 17 HR and 49 RBI last season. He'll likely get around 125 starts and bat 6th in the line-up. Wilson is too aggressive at the plate (resulting in 122 K last season) and is weak on defence. Backing him up should be sophomore Scot Thorman who, barring injury or a horrible spring training should be with the club full time this season.

Second Baseman: Kelly Johnson is making the transition this season from 4th outfielder to starting second baseman. He hit .241 with 9 HR and 40 RBI last season. Johnson tends to overthink the game but he's solid in the field, so he'll play around 100 games and bat 8th. Martin Prado is battling for the back-up job but he'll likely start in AAA Richmond simply because he has just 24 games of experience under his belt and the coaches will want him to receive ample at-bats and playing time. Utility man Chris Woodward should see some playing time at second base, however he has been limited lately by the injury bug and tends to be inconsistent at the plate; strikes out too much. He'll be likely used as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement primarily.

Shortstop: The speedy Edgar Renteria will be starting at SS and batting 2nd for the Braves. He has focus lapses and isn't great at reading pitchers moves when it comes to base stealing. Renteria hit .293 with 14 HR and 70 RBI. He'll play around 150 games if healthy. Backing him up will be Woodward.

Third Baseman: Chipper Jones (no relation to Andruw) will once again be a key part of the Braves success. He'll bat third in the batting order and play anywhere from 135-160 games as long as he's healthy. Jones batted .324, blasted 26 HR and knocked in 86 runs last season, while being limited to a career-low 110 games due to various injuries. Besides the injuries, Jones's only other weak point is his ability to knock the ball in play when he has two strikes against him. Backing him up will be Woodward. Willy Aybar will actually likely be the primary back-up at third base. This utility man hit .280 with 4 HR and 30 RBI last season for

Left Fielder: Ryan Langerhans will likely bat lead-off and play between 125 and 135 games this season. He hit .241 with 7HR and 28 RBI IN '06. Langerhans must get his average up if he wants to remain batting lead-off for long. Wilson may get some time in left field. Matt Diaz should be the 4th outfielder for the Braves. His defense and ability to drive in runs are what prevent him from being in the line-up regularly. He hit .327 with 7 HR and 32 RBI in the '06 season.

Center Fielder: Once again Andruw Jones will be relied on heavily to drive in many runs for this team. He'll bat clean-up and play around 155 games if healthy. Jones covers a lot of ground in the outfield and has a very powerful arm. He can blast pitches over the wall (41 long balls in the '06 campaign), but tends to strike out too much (127 times last season) thus lowering his average (.262 in '06). Jones can also drive in buckets of runs (129 in '06). Overall, he's a star in this league and will do wonders to help the Braves succeed, a big prt of why they won 14 straight division titles). Langerhans will be the primary back-up.

Right Fielder: Finally, Jeff Francoeur will patrol right field for the Braves. Francoeur lacks patience at the plate, as evidenced by his 132 strikeouts from last season. However, he can hit for average (.262 in '06), power (29 HR last season) and he can drive in runners (103 at last season's end). These numbers are why he'll play every game this season if healthy and bat 5th. Should he get hurt or need a maintenance day, either Wilson or Woodward will take his place.

Season Prediction: The Atlanta Braves are entering another re-building year. How successful this team is will depend on the health of their pitchers and whether they can consistently produce runs. The Braves will finish second in the NL East.