The X factor
The addition of Donaldson (Along with a full year of Ronald Acuña Jr.) will undoubtedly leave the Braves with a better lineup then they had last season.
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Let’s say that a given team decides that they really don’t want to pitch to Acuña. So, he gets walked twice out of the leadoff spot. Let’s also assume that said team allows a base hit to
Ozzie Albies, batting second, leading to runners on first and third.
Now the pitcher is faced with quite a dilemma. Do you pitch to Freddie Freeman or Josh Donaldson? If that team had instead decided that it wanted to avoid Freeman, the same scenario could easily occur. Then, if the team pitched too carefully to him, that leaves Donaldson up with the bases loaded and nobody out.
I may be getting a little long-winded here, but my point is Donaldson adds another dimension to the lineup, which only benefits Freeman. Considering how well Freeman did under Kemp’s protection from mid-2016-2017, I think that the addition of Donaldson could lead to his biggest year yet. If the Braves are firmly in the pennant race all season long, which is expected, then he could have a legitimate shot at getting the first MVP award of his outstanding career.
#MVFREE pic.twitter.com/rvsJYvIslj
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) October 8, 2018
Add in Johan Camargo and the catching combination of Brian McCann and Tyler Flowers, and the top six in the lineup should be such that plenty of runs are scored, with Freddie in the center of it all.
Whether the protection or the depth of the lineup, the offense for the Atlanta Braves should be much improved in 2019, and Freddie Freeman should be the beneficiary.