We’ve already established who will be the starting first baseman for the Atlanta Braves for the 2016 season, but was it really that hard? So, now we are going to move around the diamond.
Next up, second base.
The good part for the Braves is that you can say that the main part of this position, has youth and could be the future for the Braves. The other part is a veteran that hasn’t really lived up to the hype.
Right now, the depth chart looks like this:
Youth – when the 2016 season starts, Peterson will be 25-years-old and Castro will be 23-years-old. Beckham will be 29-years-old to start the season. Atlanta just signed the veteran on Wednesday. The good part about him is he can play second base, third base as well as shortstop. Also, he went to the University of Georgia and was born in Atlanta, Georgia. A return home for him could pay huge dividends for him.
Peterson stands at 6’0” and 200 lbs. He was part of the trade last December (2014) that sent Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres. The Braves did not know at the time, but they may have received the future at second base.
In 2015, Peterson had 528 at-bats, hitting .239 while compiling 126 hits and six home runs. He had an OBP of .314, while scoring 55 runs and had 52 RBI’s. For being his first full-time season playing in the majors (played 27 games with the Padres in 2014), these numbers are not too shabby. Also, he did fall off towards the end of the season because he never adjusted to pitchers burying him with inside pitches.
Castro is a little smaller, he is 5’11” and 175 lbs. and only had his major league debut on June 7, 2015. In the short time he has played in the majors in 2015, he had 96 at-bats, with 23 hits and a batting average of .240. He hit two home runs, scored 14 runs, had five RBI’s and had a .263 OBP. He is struggled badly in Winter League play, but still has a month to play better and Spring Training. If he continues to struggle, he’ll find his way back to Gwinnett.
So as we sit right now it would be between Peterson and Beckham. To me, Beckham seems like the utility player who will be a bat off the bench and a fill in guy. BUT, you never know, he could turn into the 2015 A.J. Pierzynski. Peterson looked like the obvious choice for me unless something happens this offseason…it’s the Braves so you never know.