House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves vs. NL East position by position: First Base.

By Alan Carpenter

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 12: Ryan Zimmerman #11 of the Washington Nationals tags out Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning in game five of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park on October 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 12: Ryan Zimmerman #11 of the Washington Nationals tags out Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning in game five of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park on October 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 30: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves hugs Jace Peterson #8 after hitting a two run home run in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in game one of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on August 30, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 30: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves hugs Jace Peterson #8 after hitting a two run home run in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in game one of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on August 30, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Braves – Freddie Freeman

We Braves’ fans already know that when Freeman is healthy and in the groove, he puts up MVP-level numbers, and that should continue for the foreseeable future.

His numbers for the past 5 seasons bear this out:

  • fWAR (2013):  5.0, 4.1, 3.4, 6.1, 4.5 (2017
  • PA  629, 708, 481, 693, 514

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of variation due to varied injuries… most lately due to wrist ailments.  But in those 5 seasons, Freeman has posted 23.1 fWAR.

No other Brave has even hit double digits over that span.

In the entire National League, only Paul Goldschmidt (27.9) and Joey Votto (26.2) have bested Freeman among first basemen.

More from Tomahawk Take

When considering all positions for NL players from 2013-17, Andrew McCutchen and Posey beat out Freeman (25.2, 24.0 respectively) and Bryce Harper ties him at 23.1, but that’s it.

His National League ranks for those 5 seasons in some other first base categories:

  • HR:  4th
  • RBI:  4th
  • Avg:  5th
  • OPS:  3rd among those with more than 250 PA’s
  • wRC+:  6th (146)

That’s elite-level performance.  So on National Hugging Day, let’s throw out a virtual hug to our Freddie Freeman, who we rank…

1st in the NL East

Next: A Chat with the Marlins fans

We will aim to complete these position checks by the time players start reporting for Spring training.

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