The 2018 Atlanta Braves reclaimed their birthright atop the National League East. Under budget and ahead of schedule, the Bravos shocked everyone en route to a 90-72 finish, and their first division pennant since 2013. Many highly touted prospects debuted in The Show over the course of the season, the biggest of which was rookie phenom Ronald Acuña Jr. Atlanta’s front office showed no fear in bringing other prospects, namely pitchers, straight to the big club from Gwinnett, even when in the midst of a pennant race. The club produced all-stars, gold gloves, the NL Rookie of the Year, and NL Manager of the Year. With just a few weeks left until Opening Day 2019, the buzz around the franchise is ecstatic. The rebuild is nearing completion, fans are as excited as they’ve been since the tail end of the Bobby era, and Atlanta is eyeing what could be its’s first NL pennant since 1999.

The Underwhelming Offseason

Analysis of the Atlanta rebuild estimated it wouldn’t be until 2019 that the Braves were ready to compete. Major prospects were scheduled to have debuted by then, and a large payroll would be available, with which Atlanta would round out a strong, young team. In 2018, Atlanta proved to be contenders one year ahead of schedule. Going into the off-season, Atlanta was projected to be big spenders. However, the Braves dropped out of the Bryce Harper discussion fairly early, and fans watched as the rest of the division made landscape altering moves.

Atlanta made two big moves early. Veteran third baseman and 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson joined the club under a one year deal, and former Atlanta catcher Brian McCann- a world champion with the Astros- also joined on a one year deal. Two great players who can provide a sense of experience to a young team, club friendly deals, the return of an old fan favorite, and the potential for high production. Even if Donaldson and McCann don’t produce on the field, the Braves are deep enough that they have other players who can step up if needed.

Neither player will be full time 162 game starters. Donaldson will likely take most of the starts at the hot corner, but will share some amount of time with do-it-all-man Johan Camargo. McCann will serve primarily to assist the plethora of young Braves pitchers develop into Major League starters. His most valuable contributions will come off the field. They will also serve to “keep the seat warm” for the minor leaguers at those positions who aren’t quite Show ready yet.

Atlanta isn’t the only NL East team who got off to a hot start in free agency. The Mets grabbed experienced names like Rajai Davis, Wilson Ramos, and Luis Avilan. The Mets biggest move was a trade with the Mariners, in which they received second baseman Robinson Cano and top reliever Edwin Diaz.

The Starting Rotation

The Nationals didn’t make a lot of big splashes but the moves they made will really serve to bulk up an already great team. Starting Pitchers Trevor Rosenthal, Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez and Tanner Raimey come aboard to complement Scherzer and Strasburg, and make the Nationals full rotation truly scary. Position players Kurt Suzuki, Matt Adams and Brian Dozier will provide three solid bats and defensive capabilities to a team looking to rebound from a disappointing 2018 season.The Phillies truly won the 2018-19 off-season. Free agency signings like Bryce Harper and Andrew Mccutchen. Trade targets like Jean Segura and JT Realmuto. Philadelphia has massively improved upon an already great team- they led the Braves throughout most of the second half of the 2018 season.Braves fans were generally unhappy watching the rest of the division make these huge moves, while Atlanta fell pretty much silent after the Donaldson/McCann signings. The only major move the Braves would make up to this point is to resign all-star outfielder Nick Markakis.Evidently, Atlanta’s front office didn’t find any value they felt was worth it for the organization. Although Braves fans are upset at the front office for their perceived hesitance to spend money, the Bravos really aren’t a team that needed to this off-season. A 90 game winning season when most players were recent minor league call ups is impressive. With more prospects scheduled to land in The Show in the next two seasons, Atlanta can improve without tying up lots of money in long-term contracts.As of now, Atlanta has four certain starters. Julio Teheran, Sean Newcomb, Mike Foltynewicz, and Kevin Gausman will all be starters this year for sure. All four had great 2018 campaigns. Foltynewicz (2.85 ERA, 183 IP in 2018) figures to be the ace this season, though his current elbow injury will likely leave him sidelined for Opening Day. The Opening Day starter will likely be Julio Teheran (3.94 ERA, 175.2 IP), who will face up against the new and improved Philadelphia Phillies.There is at least one- and possibly two- spots in the rotation left to be taken in the spring. Three players are in contention to be fill out Atlanta’s starting rotation: Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright, and Mike Soroka.



22 year old Touki Toussaint started 5 games in 2018, and appeared in relief twice in the NLDS. In just 29 innings pitched, he recorded a 4.03 ERA with 32 strikeouts. In his latest spring start, Touki pitched 3 innings, surrendered no hits, and struck out 4.

Kyle Wright has been the pleasant surprise of the spring. In 2018, between Double-A and Triple-A he recorded a 3.46 ERA with 133 strikeouts. In a short stint in the majors at the end of last year, he threw six innings with 5 strikeouts and 6 walks. He’s been turning heads all spring. In his latest outing, he threw 3 scoreless innings against the Yankees. He surrendered just 2 hits and racked up 3 strikeouts.



The likely game plan for the Braves will be to make the fifth and/or sixth starters slots highly flexible. Touki and Wright will likely rotate between Gwinnett and Atlanta, and between Atlanta’s rotation and bullpen. Having as many as six possible starters could provide opportunities for longer rest for the primary four starters. It remains to be seen if one of these pitchers can do enough to separate themselves from the others and become a full time rotation arm.



Personally, I’d go with Touki. He’s got the most experience of the three, saw action and even picked up Atlanta’s only win in the NLDS last season. His velocity has been a little low in the spring, but it isn’t terrible and not enough to overshadow what he’s capable of, and the experience he has.

Don’t count out the possibility of a current prospect and minor league arm making some starts if they develop quickly through the year. Names like Ian Anderson, Kolby Allard, Luiz Gohara and Bryce Wilson could find their way into temporary rotation or bullpen roles late in the season. When Mike Soroka recovers from injury, he will almost certainly find his way back into the Major League rotation, assuming his (likely) rehab starts in Gwinnett go well.

The Bullpen

The Braves bullpen was the source of much stress- and losses last season. The lack of a dominating closer or reliable set up man put Atlanta in some really undesirable positions time and time again.However, most arms are young and the potential is there. The addition of Darren O’ Day will provide a much needed revamp to the pen in 2019 but he can’t do it all on his own.AJ Minter and Arodys Vizcaino will likely split closer duties. In 2018, Minter posted a 2.18 ERA over the summer but battled lower back issues through the rest of the year. Vizcaino posted a 2.11 ERA and saved 16 of his 18 opportunities. Viz battled shoulder problems throughout the end of last year but the long off-season should have remedied that.Preceding Minter and Viz will be the aforementioned O’ Day, Shane Carl, Jessie Biddle, Dan Winkler and 2018 NL comeback player of the year Johnny Venters. Winkler could prove to be invaluable, as he 0.74 ERA in just 26 appearances last year. With the exception of Venters and O’ Day, 2018 was the first full Major League season for each of these pitchers.



Look for some of the starting pitching prospects who aren’t in the rotation to make some relief appearances later in the season.

The Infield

First baseman Freddie Freeman will lead the team in his 9th season as a Brave. Freeman will- barring injury- start as close to 162 games as he can. In 2018 he led the NL in hits, and led the Braves in most offensive categories. He started at first base for the National League in the All-Star game, and won his first NL Gold Glove. Although he will far and away be the primary first baseman, the Braves are attempting to transition third base prospect Austin Riley to first base, in an attempt to provide Freeman with increased time off, as well as have an insurance policy in case they lose Freeman.



Atlanta will definitely carry two catchers- possibly three. Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann will primarily split catcher duties. Although neither adds a particularly reliable bat, the Braves may also carry catching prospect Alex Jackson. Jackson could get some much needed MLB experience under two experienced veterans before taking over full time catching duties next season. If Atlanta does decide to carry three catchers, I don’t seeing it being all season. Jackson may shuttle back and forth between Atlanta and Gwinnett, so don’t look for him to be in the lineup as you’ll likely see Flowers and McCann.

Ozzie Albies will return at second base for the Atlanta Braves. In his first full season in the show, Albies was named an all-star. He got off to as hot a start you can hope for last year. He was impressing on the basepaths, at the plate, and in the field. However, he cooled down a lot down the stretch of the season. He hit a quick 20 homeruns in the first couple months but finished the season with just 24. Part of Ozzie’s strategy at the plate was to just swing at everything. That strategy at the plate contributed to his rapid cooling off over the latter half of the year, but I expect a major bounce back in 2019. Maybe not to his March/April numbers of last year, but I think Ozzie will become a more consistent and reliable contact hitter, and I predict he will lead the club in extra base hits. His baserunning, defensive ability and chemistry in the clubhouse are part of what makes this Braves team so much fun to watch. If Atlanta can get last year’s first half Ozzie at the plate for the whole season, this team may be even better than already believed.

Dansby Swanson looks to be the primary shortstop, but of all the regular starters, he could see the least time. Although his defensive production has improved dramatically, Dansby has left a lot to be desired at the plate over the past few years. However, as one of the biggest faces of this rebuild, what he means to the team is far more important than his .238 2018 batting average. Dansby will likely rotate at the position with Charlie Culberson with a few appearances by Johan Camargo. If Swanson can avoid injury and develop a more consistent presence at the plate, we may see him share less time. He’s changed his batting stance, and shown plenty of promise through the spring so I look for Dansby to have his most productive year as a Brave in 2019. If he under performs, however, Charlie Culberson is a more than competent shortstop as well. He also has a nice knack for walk-offs. All around utility man Johan Camargo could see some time at shortstop as well, but I see most of his time coming at second and third base.

The Outfield

Free agent third baseman signee Josh Donaldson looks to be the primary starter at the hot corner, although age and injury will limit him to splitting a fair amount of time with Johan Camargo. If Donaldson doesn’t produce as expected, look for Carmargo to become the primary starter.Top prospect Austin Riley may also make a few appearances towards the second half of the year if he continues to develop as expected. Riley will almost certainly be the primary third baseman in 2020.Does it get any more exciting in 2019 than Ronald Acuña Jr? The Phenom lived up to and surpassed expectations after his April 2018 debut. He batted .293 with 26 home runs in his debut season. His production shot up dramatically after manager Brian Snitker moved him to lead-off. His knack for lead-off home runs gave the Braves plenty of early leads last year. He became the youngest ever player to hit a grand slam in the postseason. If the production he saw for him after the all-star break continues, look for Acuña to be in the MVP discussion.



Joining Acuña will be Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte. Those two’s bats are among the most consistent and reliable in the major leagues. Markakis was a Major League baseball hit leader for most of last season. Markakis hit .297 last season, while Inciarte hit .265. They each had among the lowest club strikeout totals and highest club walk totals. Although Atlanta initially seemed hesitant to bring back Markakis, the fan base was eager to put the all-star back in a Braves uniform.



If their production is similar to what is was in 2018, these will be two of the most important players on the Braves roster. Both gloves are invaluable, as they’ve both won gold gloves, and Ender especially excels at robbing home runs.

Outfield prospect Christian Pache has been the surprise of the spring. He may not start the year in Atlanta, but if he continues to impress, look for him to be an alternate for one of the main three outfielders in the second half. Johan Camargo is also capable of playing outfield if needed.



I think the outfield is the second most likely position (first being the bullpen) to possibly be addressed in a mid-season trade. If Inciarte or Markakis do get off to a slow start at the plate, General Manager Alex Anthopolous may unload some prospects in exchange for a younger bat with long-term club control.

Outlook

Atlanta has a great team but did very little to make instant improvements this off-season. The rest of the NL East has bulked up quite a bit, so repeating as division champs will be no easy task. With the increased veteran presence in the clubhouse, a full year or more under the belts of the rookies, a more experienced and developed bullpen, better bench bats and more highly touted prospects scheduled to make their Show debut this year, I don’t see the Braves having a drop-off. The problem is the sharp up-tick in competitiveness among division rivals. I see Atlanta winning 90-95 games, possibly more if other NL East teams under perform, or a player massively outperforms their predicted production capabilities. 90-95 doesn’t necessarily equate to a certain division title, but Atlanta will return to the postseason at least as a wild card in 2019.The top four teams of the NL East could honestly finish in any given order. I think the order of finish will be Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Miami. If New York stays healthy, they are more than capable of running away with the division. Although Philadelphia is the favorite of most, their rotation and bullpen is suspect. Outside of Nola and Arrietta, the Phillies will struggle in the pitching department. Washington isn’t a bad team but will struggle due to the other teams in the division being so strong. Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia will definitely finish above .500 and look out for the NL East producing both wild card winners.