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Atlanta Braves: 5 Things We’re Looking Forward To In 2017

By Jeff Schafer

Jul 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Chase d
Jul 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Chase d /
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Oct 2, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) after a game against the Detroit Tigers at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Tigers 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) after a game against the Detroit Tigers at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Tigers 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

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.

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

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