The Atlanta Braves are getting ready to open their 2011 season on Thursday in the Nation’s Capital against the Washington Nationals. Wait… What? It’s baseball season already? When did this happen?
Truthfully, this happens to me every year. I get so enamored and caught up in March Madness that I let baseball season completely sneak up on me. I haven’t given baseball a second thought until recently and it’s time to preview the 2011 Braves.
The Braves are fresh off of breaking their postseason drought after winning the NL Wildcard in 2010 and ultimately falling to the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants in four games in the NLDS.
Fresh faces in the field highlighted by second baseman Dan Uggla and a not so fresh face on the bench with Fredi Gonzalez taking over for Bobby Cox as the new manager in Atlanta.
On paper, the Braves experienced a lot of changes this offseason specifically with a new manager for the first time in two decades, but not a whole lot has changed in Atlanta.
The Fredi Gonzalez era is ready to begin.
The goals for this team are loftier than last season’s as this squad looks to build off of last season’s NLDS.
Last season, the Braves finished in them middle of the pack in the league in most offensive categories, but much more is expected of this team with the addition of Uggla as the team’s right handed power bat.
The Braves have had solid offenses the last few years, but they’ve consistently ranked in the lower half of baseball in homeruns. The addition of Uggla gives the Braves a true cleanup hitter and adds 30+ HR’s a season.
Heightened expectations highlight the Braves 2011 offense that will hopefully lead this team to bigger and better things this season.
Catcher
2010 Stats:
Brian McCann: .269 BA 21 HR 77 RBI .375 OBP .828 OPS
One of the few positions to not be changed over the last few years has been catcher with Brian McCann being a stalwart behind the plate for the Braves. The five time All Star put together another productive season in 2010.
McCann started out sluggish last season with right eye issues as he hit .234 in April. But, he started wearing glasses again and he picked it up the pace with big months in July and August where he hit .310.
He struggled down the stretch of the season, but with his vision problems hopefully completely behind him; McCann should expect a big season in 2011. McCann is a career .289 hitter, so we should expect his average to see a significant spike this year.
David Ross is one of the most reliable backup catchers in baseball, posting an .871 OPS last year. He’s reliable behind the plate and has given Atlanta two solid seasons and we should expect the same this season from the 34-year old.
Projected 2011 Stats:
McCann: .285 BA 22 HR 86 RBI .380 OBP .848 OPS
First Base
2010 Stats:
Freddie Freeman: .167 BA 1 HR 1 RBI .167 OBP .500 OPS (20 Games)
Last season, Freddie Freeman wasn’t ready for the big leagues. The Braves started the season with Troy Glaus at first and when he fizzled off they traded for Derek Lee midseason. Freeman ultimately got a call up late in the season, but he failed to make a big impact.
He wasn’t ready last season, but all signs in the spring point toward Freeman being ready to take the reigns this season. Fredi Gonzalez and the Braves coaches seem to think Freeman is ready as well.
Atlanta has placed all their faith in Freeman and they don’t really have a backup in case he struggles. He’s the man. Look for Eric Hinske to be the primary backup first baseman when Gonzalez wants to give Freeman a day off.
I’m expecting Freeman to start the season low in the lineup much like Jason Heyward last season just so he can get his feet wet. He may end up staying down in the order for much of the season, unless he just absolutely explodes. Freeman’s going to have some rookie struggles this season, but I expect him to put together a solid year overall.
Projected 2011 Stats:
Freeman: .270 BA 17 HR 60 RBI .348 OBP
Second Base
2010 Stats:
Dan Uggla: .287 BA 33 HR 105 RBI .369 OBP .877 OPS
Uggla brings 154 career HR's into Atlanta.
The Braves needed to add some pop into the lineup and they did so my dealing Omar Infante and Mike Dunn to the Marlins for slugger Dan Uggla. It was tough to part ways with Infante after such a great season in 2010, but the trade was a no-brainer.
The Braves have struggled hitting homeruns over the last few years, but Uggla should add a lot of power to the lineup. Martin Prado and Omar Infante gave the Braves plenty of production at second base last season and Uggla should do the same.
He’s a career .263 hitter, but he posted a career high in batting average with a .287 mark last season and he has absolutely torn up Turner Field when he’s played there. Uggla has hit 154 homeruns in his five year career and has hit 30+ in four straight seasons.
The one flaw in Uggla’s game is his defense. Atlanta is going to take a step back defensively at second base, but his ability at the plate should overshadow his defensive deficiencies. Uggla had 18 errors and a fielding percentage of .976 last season compared to Prado’s .987 and Infante’s .978 at 2nd base in 2010.
His defense is bound to frustrate Braves fans at times this season, but I guarantee his bat will bring joy more than his defense brings frustration.
Projected 2011 Stats:
Uggla: .282 BA 34 HR 114 RBI .365 OBP .880 OPS
Shortstop
2010 Stats:
Alex Gonzalez: .250 BA 23 HR 88 RBI .294 OBP .741 OPS
A lot of Braves still aren’t happy with the trade that brought Alex Gonzalez in from Toronto in exchange for Yunel Escobar. Gonzalez didn’t do anything to quite the doubters last season as he hit only .240 in Atlanta and his power stayed in Toronto.
The Braves made the trade to add some power to the lineup, but after hitting 17 HR’s in 85 games in Toronto last season, Gonzlaez hit only 6 HR’s in 72 games with Atlanta.
The Braves brought Gonzalez back for 2011 and are hoping he is able to bounce back. The bright side of having Gonzalez at short is his defense. While he will make the occasional frustrating error, he also makes plays that you just wouldn’t believe without seeing it yourself.
I think Gonzalez will bounce back a little, but I’m not expecting a huge spike in numbers.
Projected 2011 Stats:
Gonzalez: .255 BA 20 HR 76 RBI .310 OBP .760 OPS
Third Base
2010 Stats:
Chipper Jones: .265 BA 10 HR 46 RBI .381 OBP .806 OPS
Last season, Chipper Jones vowed to bounce back or he would retire. Looking at his numbers from last season and 2009, he didn’t have the bounce back year that he hoped for, but he didn’t get to finish what he started.
Chipper Jones will look to have a bounce back year in 2011.
He tore his ACL in August just when it seemed he had once again found his swing. He didn’t want to retire on anyone’s terms but his own, and he worked his tail off to get back onto the field this season. After struggling for the first few months of the season, Chipper was hitting .400 in August before suffering the knee injury.
When Chipper went down, Martin Prado took over at 3rd base, and then Brooks Conrad finished the season after Prado’s injury. Look for Prado to be Chipper’s primary backup at 3rd base this season with Conrad filling in occasionally.
I don’t foresee a great season for the future hall of fame third baseman, but Chipper should see a rebound season and contribute heavily for what should be a great season all around in Atlanta.
Projected 2011 Stats:
Jones: .280 BA 20 HR 78 RBI .405 OBP .865 OPS
Outfield
2010 Stats:
Martin Prado: .307 BA 15 HR 66 RBI .350 OBP .809 OPS
Nate McLouth: .190 BA 6 HR 24 RBI .298 OBP .620 OPS
Jason Heyward: .277 BA 18 HR 72 RBI .393 OBP .849 OPS
Martin Prado played everywhere for the Braves last season and his team-first attitude has led him to left field this season after the acquisition of Dan Uggla. Prado started out last season at second base, but he also played first, third, and the outfield for the Braves when they needed him to.
Prado will be the starting left fielder for Atlanta in 2011, but he will also be the de facto utility player, coming in and starting at second and third base when Uggla or Chipper need a night off. Prado has hit over .300 for three consecutive seasons and there is nothing to say that he won’t do so again in 2011. He is the best shape of his career and he should put together a great season if he can stay healthy.
Nate McLouth has one last chance to prove himself in Atlanta or I can’t see him sticking around much longer. The Braves traded for McLouth during the 2009 season, hoping to get the guy that led the NL in doubles in 2008, but he has been anything but that guy since his arrival.
After hitting .257 for the Braves in 2009, McLouth took another giant step backward with a .190 average last season and had trouble even getting on the field. He’s hit well so far this spring and he held off Jordan Schafer for the starting center fielder spot.
What does Jason Heyward's sophomore season have in store?
I don’t expect McLouth to have a huge season, but he can’t do any worse than the abomination that was his 2010 year. If McLouth is able to have a 2008-esque year, then the Braves will be that much better as he could give them a true leadoff hitter with strong average and good speed on the basepaths. We can hope, right?
Jason Heyward had a spectacular rookie season and he didn’t disappoint with all the hype that surrounded him. He hit a three-run homerun in his first major league at-bat and he didn’t look back from there. He had a big rookie season and gave the Braves great production all season long.
The J-Hey kid has heightened expectations in his sophomore season in the majors and I don’t expect any sophomore slump for the phenom.
Projected 2011 Stats:
Prado: .314 BA 14 HR 63 RBI .365 OBP .830 OPS
McLouth: .245 BA 12 HR 52 RBI .340 OBP .755 OPS
Heyward: .302 BA 26 HR 94 RBI .404 OBP .900 OPS
Make sure you check out the second part of my season preview where I check out the Braves pitching. It should be up some time before Opening Day.