Braves Future Looks Bright and We’re Excited…Are you?!?
The run the Atlanta Braves had in September was spectacular to watch. Especially after the long months we all sat through with pain and tears. September gave us hope. September gave us joy. September gave us eagerness. September gave us extreme excitement!!
Spirits definitely picked up after the final month of the 2016 season, but we can’t get too hype. It’s a start, but we’ve still got work to do. We’ve got a lot to look forward to for the 2017 season and we could be in contention with the best of them.
If we ended the season at the end of August, our heads may be hanging a little low this time of year, but the season is 162 games and we play through September!
Can the Braves make the playoffs in 2017? Why the heck not??
Braves General Manager John Coppolella has a lot of work in his near future. He’ll be looking to fill the gaps of a veteran starting pitcher, a catcher, some help from the bench and possibly moving Nick Markakis.
With promise-land within grasp for the Atlanta Braves, we put together a list of five things to look forward to in 2017. Let’s start off with a fan favorite…
Swanson for President? How about that hair!! Man, can’t wait until 2017 and we get to watch this guy night in and night out!
An Entire Season of The Dansby Swanson Show
Ever since his debut in the majors on August 17, Dansby Swanson became the most captivating player to take the field for Atlanta each day. His swagger, his hair, his defensive plays, and his speed and all-out hustle have arguably made him the most exciting rookie to enter Major League Baseball since Bryce Harper.
Dansby Swanson already is a leading candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year for 2017. Yes, maybe we’re biased about that, but how can we not be?
For those wondering if Swanson qualifies for ROY next year, the answer is yes. Swanson did not exceed MLB’s rule of 130 at-bats in 2016, nor did he spend more than 45 days on the active, 25-man roster. Therefore, he is eligible to win the National League Rookie of the Year in 2017.
If Swanson had played 162 games with Atlanta this past season, then he would’ve been projected to bat .302 with 13 HR, 72 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.
However, this projection is based on his stats from 2016, where Swanson typically batted eighth in the batting order. If Swanson is moved higher in the order next season like many believe he will, then expect those projected offensive statistics to be even higher.
Braves fans hardly got a taste of Swanson’s abilities in 2016, but next season Dansby Swanson has the opportunity to join the likes of Rafael Furcal and Craig Kimbrel and win rookie of the year as an Atlanta Brave.
With Swanson earning the starting shortstop role and SunTrust Park opening next season, 2017 will definitely mark the beginning of a new era of Braves baseball.
-Jonah Pryor
Full Year With Matty Kemp
On July 30th, the one-year anniversary of the dreaded Hector Olivera trade, the Braves sent him back to the west coast to acquire Matt Kemp who turned out to be everything that Olivera was supposed to be in Atlanta.
Kemp’s arrival immediately gave Brian Snitker a viable cleanup option, something that has been AWOL in Atlanta since the departure of Justin Upton. Moreover, the Padres agreed to pay a portion of Kemp’s salary as well as take on Olivera’s contract (he was DFA’d literally minutes after the trade went down).
Though his WAR doesn’t show it, Kemp had a huge effect during his 56 games with the Braves this season. Pre-Kemp, the Braves lacked any sort of righty power and the protection for Freddie Freeman was next to nothing. Post-trade, the offense became one of the most potent in the league. Not only did Freddie begin to absolutely take off, Nick Markakis benefited from moving out of the cleanup spot.
Since #Braves got Kemp they've averaged 5.2 runs per game, entered today 4th in MLB in runs during that period.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) September 17, 2016
The midseason trade for Kemp draws a lot of parallels to the Mets’ trade for Yoenis Céspedes in 2015. The additions of middle-of-the-lineup sluggers caused their respective offenses to go from stagnant to top-tier immediately. Not only did those batting adjacent to Kemp immediately improve at the plate, Kemp himself looked like a more complete batter in a Braves uniform than at any point during his time with the Padres.
The biggest concern offensively for Kemp for the past couple of years was his inability to get on base consistently. Somehow, Kemp had a respectable, above-average OBP of .336 with the Braves this season after his OBP dwelled under .290 in 100 games with the Padres (maybe it was the rekindled passion for baseball?).
All the aforementioned praise of Kemp at the plate does come with the reminder that he’s now a liability in the outfield, though. Even though it does help having Ender Inciarte manning center, Kemp being a snail of his former self hurts the team defensively.
John Coppolella is well aware of this issue and went public with the news that if Kemp got into better shape, he would be a better fielder (https://soundcloud.com/mlbnetworkradio/john-coppolella-braves-gm-matt-kemp-needs-to-get-into-shape).
Fingers crossed that Kemp got the message loud and clear, and hopefully it didn’t cause a divot in Coppy and Kemp’s player-GM relationship. If Kemp can come across some speed in the offseason, even if that does mean sacrificing a few home runs, it would be at great benefit to the team.
Because of the Kemp acquisition, one wouldn’t be out of their mind to think that the Braves could contend for a playoff spot as early as next year. The team went 31-25 (90-72 stretched into a full season) after bringing in Kemp and that was with a pitching staff that had fully unraveled near the end of the season.
Coppy is sure to make moves in the offseason, but fans have a lot to look forward to as long as Matt Kemp is hitting right behind Freddie in 2017.
Here’s to a full season of (in shape?) Matt Kemp!
-Alex Burke
Coppy’s Still Going To Be Wheelin’ and Dealin’
With Arizona parting ways with Dave Stewart and San Diego shortening the leash on AJ Preller faster than you can say, “Hey, do you have any medical records we can check out?”, some of John Coppolella’s favorite trading partners are fast getting out of the game.
That’s a shame if you’re a Braves fan, as Coppy’s annual fleecing of rival GM’s was becoming a mid-summer tradition on par with Independence Day and family vacations to the beach where everyone wears khakis and a white shirt to take the Most Caucasian Photo Imaginable.
Here are some highlights of deals the Braves have made since Coppy joined the organization—I know John Hart was “the GM” in 2014, but really, this was Coppy and we all know it.
Leaving aside trades where the jury is still out, these are trades it’s already fair to say Atlanta “won” under Coppy:
Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden to St. Louis for Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins (MLB ‘pen)
Justin Upton to the Padres for Jace Peterson (MLB starter), Mallex Smith (MLB player), Max Fried (No. 9 prospect/Tomahawk Take Mid-Season rankings) and Dustin Peterson (No. 10/TT)
Kyle Kubitza and Nate Hyatt to the Angels for Ricardo Sanchez (No. 26/TT)
Evan Gattis to the Astros for Mike Foltynewicz (MLB rotation) and Rio Ruiz (No. 19/TT)
A pile of parts (Alberto Callaspo, Eric Stults, Ian Thomas, Juan Jaime) to the Dodgers for Juan Uribe and Chris Withrow (MLB ‘pen)
Phil Gosselin to Arizona for Touki Touissant (No. 6/TT) and the chance to pay Bronson Arroyo to go away.
Uribe and Kelly Johnson to the Mets for John Gant (MLB spot-starter/long relief) and Rob Whalen (No. 21/TT)
Miller to Arizona for Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair
(I still love seeing that sentence in print. Makes it real.)
Kelly Johnson back to the Mets for Akeel Morris (No. 30/TT)
Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez to Texas for Travis Demeritte (No. 14/TT)
Hector Olivera to San Diego for Matt Kemp AND CASH
Hunter Cervenka to Miami for Anfernee Seymour (No. 19/MLB.com pipeline) and Michael Mader
To sum it up briefly, Coppy took three not-quite stars, a cult hero and a hodgepodge of assets and completely remade his entire system. If I were a GM, I wouldn’t even take his calls, but there’s a sucker born every minute and Coppy will no doubt find the next one.
-Colby Wilson
Young Guns Are Comin’
There’s a smell in the air…it’s October and it’s playoff baseball time.
Unfortunately, the Braves season is over and we won’t be seeing anymore game until 2017. That’s okay, after the season we had with the ups and downs it’s all right with me to sit back and enjoy the time off.
As we sit and think about the 2016 season, we saw a lot of turnover in many positions. The Braves were trying to find the right guys for the right spots. Did they find them all? No, we’ve still got work to do, but we did start to see some pieces fall into place.
Next step? Start thinking about who can help us in 2017. If you’re caught up on the Braves prospect list, we’ve got the youngsters coming our way!
Braves rotation seems to be of most concern as of now. For 2017, I can confidently say that we have two starts slotted into our rotation…Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz.
Matt Wisler and Aaron Blair seemed to take lateral steps in 2016 (if not steps backwards) and their spots could be in jeopardy. I’m not saying these guys won’t be in our rotation, just that they’ll need to impress in Spring Training and hope we don’t sign additional veterans.
Three names you should get very familiar with as we turn the page to 2017…Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis and Lucas Sims. These are the next wave of arms for Atlanta. And we should be excited about these guys.
Following them, it’s possible we see Max Fried, Max Povse and A.J. Minter in 2017.
Next year, when we’re doing this post again looking forward to 2018, it’s going to be a heck of a list.
New Era In The ATL
So 2017 could be a complete overhaul for the organization. It’s possible we have a new manager, a new pitching coach, a new stadium…and maybe a new jersey?!
As of now, the Braves are looking to fill the managerial gap. Many of us (even the players) want Brian Snitker back in this position, but Bud Black and Ron Washington are also still in the running. The Braves are rumored to be making their decision very shortly as they start their offseason meetings on Tuesday.
The Braves are nearing the end of their managerial search. Playoff games could influence when announcement is made. My guess remains Snitker
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 10, 2016
The Braves parted ways with longtime pitching coach Roger McDowell last week. He’s been in this spot for 11 seasons. That news left many to believe the Braves will bring in someone outside the organization to fill in the manager position. Maybe, maybe not.
2017, we’ll see the brand-new stadium of the SunTrust Ballpark. This facility will be a state of the art place to visit with your friends and family. It will have anything and everything you’d want…from a movie theater, shopping, zip lining, great seats as you watch the Braves and the Chick-fa-a cow!
Will the Braves break out a new jersey, hat, logo for the new season? Nothing has been made of this except for one comment by John Coppolella about not changing the logo. Anything is possible at this point. I can see something in the works, at least an alternate to see more merchandise. Heck, I’ll buy something new!!
Next: Braves to Choose Betwixt Snitker/Black/Washington
If you’re a Braves fan, you should be very excited about what’s to come for our organization. In 2017, we should be competitive and the future is very bright to be very competitive for a long time.