Nick & Hayden's 2014 MLB Preview: 10. Atlanta Braves

This is by no means meant to be a bashing of Evan Gattis, but this is
A) why Gattis should be catching pitches and
B) visually representative of how I feel about the Atlanta Braves in the worst case scenario in 2014.

by Hayden Hughes
3/11/12




Following a horrendous 2013 from B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla, the bad looks worse now for the 2014 Atlanta Braves as starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy have apparent serious injuries, while Mike Minor is also experiencing some soreness in his shoulder. This is important because the question remains: How reliable is Freddy Garcia? What team hasn't signed this guy to a one-year contract that proved to be valuable comes season's end?

Yeah. One paragraph into the Braves' preview and I've already mentioned Freddy Garcia. Translation: This is a really good team where A LOT can go wrong. Like, Titanic wrong.

Gee, you know...come to think of it, a veteran starter like Tim Hudson (who is now a Giant) would be a great benefit to a team with this type of fragility.

Fragility seems to be a good word for this Atlanta Braves team, as consistency in shortstop Andrelton Simmons and first baseman Freddie Freeman are great, but that's where it stops. Catcher Evan Gattis proved himself to be as aggressive and exciting as they come, but was often out of the lineup due to injury. Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton had historically horrible years in 2013, even resulting in, not only the benching of, but the discussion of a demotion for Upton. Meanwhile, B.J.'s brother, new left fielder Justin Upton had a great April then an awful May and June - only to turn it around in July and August. Justin finished September hitting .260, which is about where the 26-year-old will be throughout his iffy-est season.

Then there's third baseman Chris Johnson, who is just kind of...there.

Then you add in the pitching problems and come to grips with the reality that outside of Garcia, the Braves will most likely see significant innings being pitched by prospects David Hale, Cody Martin, and maybe even J.R. Graham, the latter didn't pitch much in 2013 due to injury.

I could see a scenario where Uggla is in a different uniform (with checks still signed by the Braves), the Upton brothers are split up, and perhaps their top offensive prospect, catcher Christian Bethancourt is traded for pitching.

Ervin Santana is currently representing himself.
"Who's Frank Wren and why is he blowing up my cell phone?"

If the St. Louis Cardinals are the poster children for consistency, the Atlanta Braves are the poster children for fragility.


1. Last Season and Offseason
      a. 96-66 – Lost to LAD in NLDS
      b. Traded LHP Sean Gilmartin to MIN for C Ryan Doumit
      c. Signed Gavin Floyd (TJ Surgery - 5/8/13)

2. Lineup/Rotation
Lineup:
      1. Jason Heyward RF
      2. Justin Upton LF
      3. Freddie Freeman 1B
      4. Evan Gattis C
      5. Chris Johnson 3B
      6. Andrelton Simmons SS
      7. Dan Uggla 2B
      8. B.J. Upton CF
Rotation:
      1. Mike Minor
      2. Kris Medlen
      3. Julio Teheran
      4. Brandon Beachy
      5. Alex Wood

3. Favorite/Least Favorite
      a. Nick's Favorite – Extensions
      b. Hayden's Favorite – Simmons
      c. Nick's Least Favorite – No Major League SP in offseason
      d. Hayden's Least Favorite – 8-9 Hitters

4. Impact Player
      a. Justin Upton
               i. 2013 in wins: .324/.416/.597
              ii. 2013 in losses: .175/.261/.272
             iii. Better At-bats
                     1. When down in count, is no good.
                              a. Obvious, but really bad numbers
             iv. Adam Jones comp. for a poor man
              v. Needs a breakout season

5. Impact Prospect
      a. Imagine a world where Upton is again benched, Heyward moves to CF, J. Upton to RF, Gattis to LF
      b. Enter: Christian Bethancourt
               i. Great defensively; Should be ready

6. Midseason Status
      a. Trying their best to keep up with WSH b/c WC spot is not an option with Central Div.
      b. Offering Uggla for a bag of Official minor league baseballs

7. Bold Predictions
      a. 90-72
      b. Trade Dan Uggla and $19.5M (75% remaining) to NYY for RHP David Phelps
      c. Trade C Christian Bethancourt to AZ for RHP Randall Delgado

Gattis might be the most interesting and fun player in Major League Baseball.
Oh...for the fans' amusement, that is.

Podcast Playlist:
"Bullets" - Augustana
"Girl's Not Grey" - AFI