Atlanta Braves: Top 10 Rookie Seasons of Past 30 Years
The Atlanta Braves have had a lot of great rookie seasons over the years. We look at the top 10 rookie seasons of the past 30 years.
If you’re going to have sustained success as a major league club, you have to continually bring up solid players through your farm system. The Atlanta Braves have been one of the best organizations at doing that over the last 30 years.
From 1989 to 2000 the Atlanta Braves had a player receive votes in every NL Rookie of the Year voting. That’s part of the reason they were able to dominate that period of baseball.
Unfortunately, they’ve had nine seasons since 2001 where they didn’t have a player receive votes in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
At the same time, some of their best rookie seasons have coming in the past 10 years. There just hasn’t been a steady influx of talent every year like there was in the 90s.
That could start to change as the Braves start to bring up some of their talented prospects.
Atlanta has several players who could contend for the Rookie of the Year title in 2019. MLB.com tabbed Touki Toussaint as their pick from the Braves, but they also mention Kolby Allard, Luiz Gohara, Austin Riley, Mike Soroka, Bryse Wilson, and Kyle Wright.
Whoever wins that fifth spot in the starting rotation will have a leg up and a good chance to win the NL Rookie of the Year in 2019.
Either way, it’s exciting to see all of these young players coming up through the system.
Before we get into our top ten, here are the ones who just missed the cut: 1993 – Greg McMichael; 1994 – Ryan Klesko; 1998 – Kerry Ligtenberg; 2008 – Jair Jurrjens; and 2013 – Julio Teheran.
1997 – Andruw Jones
Andruw Jones is one of my favorite Atlanta Braves players of all-time, so I had to put him in our top 10.
After an impressive showing in the 1996 World Series, Andruw came back and had a so-so rookie season in 1997 hitting 18 home runs and driving in 70, but he hit just .231.
He finished just fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that year, which was won by Scott Rolen. Livan Hernandez, Matt Morris, and Rich Loiselle all finished ahead of him.
Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero finished sixth behind Andruw.
AJ really took off the following season in 1998 when he hit .271 with 31 home runs while winning the first of 10 straight Gold Gloves.
As we all know, Andruw Jones belongs to be in the Hall of Fame because of his defense alone. So far he hasn’t come close to getting the required votes receiving just 7.5 percent in 2019, but hopefully, the voters will wake up soon.
While Jones’ rookie season wasn’t one of the best, all of the fans were excited to see him come to the plate, and they really began to saw just how special he was as a center fielder.
2009 – Tommy Hanson
I can vividly remember my friend in college pulling up to my house that June 7 morning and telling me to get in the car because Tommy Hanson was making his major league debut today. We drove from Auburn to Atlanta that morning to see Hanson pitch in his first major league game.
While his debut didn’t go as planned, Hanson went on to have a great rookie season for the Atlanta Braves and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
That season he posted a 2.89 ERA in 127.2 innings pitched with 116 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.18 in 21 starts.
Finishing ahead of Hanson in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season was Chris Coghlan and J.A. Happ.
Hanson won 10 games or more in all four of his seasons in Atlanta before he was traded to Atlanta.
Shoulder problems led to a drop in velocity and Hanson threw his last pitch in the majors in 2013.
Even more unfortunate, Hanson passed away in 2015 from cocaine and alcohol at the young age of 29.
There haven’t been too many debuts in the last 30 years that I remember more vividly than Hanson’s. I just wish things would have gone better for the kid and that he was still with us today.
2005 – Jeff Francoeur
We’ve had some hyped prospects over the years, but maybe no one faced bigger expectations that Jeff Francoeur. It didn’t help that Sports Illustrated put him on the cover with the title “The Natural.”
But Frenchy made a lot of us believers in 2005 when he hit .300 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI in just 70 games with the Atlanta Braves. He did seem like a natural when he hit a home run in his first major league game.
Had he played the entire 2005 season he probably would have won the NL Rookie of the Year, but as it was he finished third behind Ryan Howard and Willy Taveras.
Francoeur put together solid 2006 and 2007 campaigns hitting .260 with 29 home runs and 103 RBI and then .293 with 19 home runs and 105 RBI. But then he started a decline in 2008 that continued into 2009 before Atlanta traded him to the New York Mets.
Frenchy bounced around for seven more seasons before hanging up the cleats. He played in 99 more games for the Braves in his final season in 2016 hitting .249 with 7 home runs.
Despite not living up to unrealistic expectations, Frenchy always kept a smile on his face and is beloved by all Braves fans. This season he’ll be the lead color guy on TV for Atlanta Braves games.
2010 – Jason Heyward
Very similar to Francoeur, unrealistic expectations were put on Jason Heyward before he even played a game in the majors. During spring training of the 2010 season they were already talking about putting Heyward into the Hall of Fame.
But just like Frenchy, he didn’t do anything to temper expectations by hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat.
I’ve gone to a lot of games at Turner Field, including some playoff games, and I’ve never heard that stadium be as loud as when Heyward hit that bomb on Opening Day against Carlos Zambrano. It’s still one of my favorite moments in Atlanta Braves history.
He went on to hit .277 in his rookie season with 18 home runs and 72 RBI. That’s also the only year he’s made the All-Star game.
Heyward finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season losing out to Buster Posey.
In 2011 he struggled mightily before putting together a solid 2012 season hitting .269 with 27 home runs and 82 RBI while winning his first of five Gold Gloves.
After five seasons with the Braves, they traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals.
He would later sign an 8-year, $184 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, which is thought to be one of the worst contracts in baseball. But, apparently, he helped lead the Cubs to a World Series in 2016 with his speech during a rain delay.
2011 – Freddie Freeman
Thought to be the sidekick to Heyward, Freddie Freeman has gone on to have a much better individual career — hopefully Freeman gets that World Series title soon.
I don’t remember being as excited for Freeman’s rookie season as I was still enamored with Heyward, but the first baseman was great in 2011 hitting .282 with 21 home runs and 76 RBI.
Unfortunately for him, he was also being overshadowed that season by another Atlanta Braves rookie who we will mention later in this list. But Freeman finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season.
As we all know, he’s gone on to be a fan favorite in Atlanta and is an MVP caliber player. Finally, the national media is starting to recognize him as one of the best — if not the best — first baseman in all of baseball.
He finally won a Gold Glove in 2018, but he probably could have won several had the Braves been a more relevant team the previous four seasons.
Of course, now that the Braves are good again Freeman is once again being overshadowed with the emergence of Ronald Acuna. But don’t forget about old faithful.
Freeman has been the most consistent player for the Atlanta Braves over the past eight seasons and I hope he gets everything he deserves in a Braves uniform.
2000 – Rafael Furcal
You may have realized this by now, but I am a huge defensive guy. My favorite player growing up was Ozzie Smith, so when Rafael Furcal broke in with the Atlanta Braves you can imagine how in love I was with this 5-foot-8 shortstop who had a laser for an a right arm.
He debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 2000 and took the league by storm winning the NL Rookie of the Year that season. He hit .295 his rookie year with 87 runs scored, 40 stolen bases, and a .384 on-base percentage.
But what I remember most about Furcal is his defense. I’ve never seen anyone with that small of a frame play the shortstop position as well as Furcal. he could get to any ball on the infield and there aren’t too many shortstops who threw as hard as he did to first base.
Furcal spent six years with Atlanta hitting .284 over that stretch with 554 runs scored, 57 home runs, and 189 stolen bases. He also spent six years with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was a very solid player.
His last season came in 2014 and he’ll likely be on the Hall of Fame ballot for the 2020 class. I’d love to see him get some votes there.
1990 – David Justice
Going back to 1990, the season before the season, David Justice helped start the dynasty by hitting .282 with 28 home runs and 78 RBI last year.
He would win the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1990 in a landslide with Delino DeShields finishing second.
I was just two-years-old at the time, so not too many memories of that rookie season for me, but it’s hard to ignore how great he was in the 1990 season that kick-started the greatest run of division titles in sports history.
What I do remember about David Justice is the home run he hit in game six of the 1995 World Series that ultimately won the game.
Justice spent eight years with the Atlanta Braves hitting .275 with 160 home runs and 522 RBI during that span. He spent six more seasons in the major leagues hitting 305 home runs with just over 1,000 RBI.
Justice and Atlanta Braves fans have a love-hate relationship. He was booed during the 1995 World Series after criticizing Braves fans for being too quiet. But once he hit that game-winning home run all was forgiven.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Justice become a bigger part of the Braves alumni. It doesn’t seem like he comes back to Atlanta enough.
2011 – Craig Kimbrel
While a lot of Atlanta Braves fans are hoping there will be a reunion with Craig Kimbrel this offseason, it’s a good time to think back to just how dominant he was in a Braves uniform.
After a solid debut in 2010, Kimbrel was lights out as a rookie in 2011 posting an ERA of 2.10 in 77 innings pitched with 127 strikeouts and 46 saves. He was the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year with teammate Freddie Freeman coming in second.
The next three years with the Braves he had an ERA of 1.61 or lower with at least 42 saves and K/9 rates of 16.7, 13.2, and 13.9.
Before the 2015 season the Braves traded Kimbrel to the San Diego Padres. Not only did Kimbrel save a lot of games for the Braves while he was there, he saved them from Melvin (B.J.) Upton as he was part of the deal to San Diego.
He’s spent the last three years with the Red Sox where he’s been a little up-and-down. Some think he’s lost a step or two, but he is still one of the best closers in all of baseball.
Overall, he has a career ERA of 1.91 in 532.2 innings pitched with 868 strikeouts and 333 saves. Kimbrel is on his way to a Hall of Fame career with a couple of more dominant seasons.
1995 – Chipper Jones
In one of the biggest scams in all of baseball, Chipper Jones was robbed of the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1995. Instead, they gave the award to a 26-year-old Hideo Nomo who had been pitching professionally in the Japan Pacific League for five years.
Nomo was great that season with a 2.54 ERA in 191.1 innings pitched with 236 strikeouts, but it was still a tight race with Chipper who hit .265 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI.
He also was dominant in the postseason that year hitting .389 with 2 home runs in the NLDS, .438 with a home run in the NLCS, and .286 with 3 runs scored, and 3 doubles in the World Series.
Despite missing out on the RoY honor, Chipper went on to have one of the greatest careers in Braves history. He ended up winning the NL MVP in 1999 when he hit .319 with 45 home runs and 110 RBI.
The 1995 season was even more incredible considering Chipper made his debut in 1993 but tore his ACL after just eight games. He sat out all of the 1994 season recovering and because of the lockout.
That made the anticipation to see the first overall draft pick play in 1995 even bigger.
Chipper is a legend in Atlanta, and nationally as well.
2018 – Ronald Acuna Jr.
The number one spot is actually pretty obvious when you look at the numbers. I know it is fresh on my mind, so I might be a littel biased, but Acuna also had the highest WAR (4.1) than any other Braves on this list in their rookie season.
Furcal was the closest at 4.0, according to Baseball Reference.
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Not only did Ronald Acuna Jr. have a great rookie season, he became a polarizing figure around the country. Hitting a home run in five straight games, including three in a row to lead-off the game, and then getting plunked because of it, the national media was eating up Acuna.
As far as the numbers go, Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs, 64 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and a .366 on-base percentage. Had he played the whole season and not gotten injured, he may have won the NL MVP.
Not only that, but he carried the Atlanta Braves to the NL East crown in the second half of the season when Freeman and Nick Markakis were struggling.
In that second half he hit .322 with a .403 on-base percentage to go along with 19 home runs and 45 RBI out of the leadoff spot.
Next. Not just pitchers: The Atlanta Braves have a top-10 position-group in the Minors. dark
Like others on this list, Acuna entered his rookie season with a lot of hype as the first or second best prospect by most outlets. He certainly lived up to the expectations in year one, let’s hope he sustains that success like Chipper.