The Atlanta Braves lost to Nationals Wednesday, but helpful in deciding who’s ready

A lot showed during the Braves 8-4 lost on Wednesday to the Nationals with a telling of who’s ready and who isn’t ready for Opening Day

As each game goes by, performances show which players are ready for the new season but Wednesday game may have been vital in shaping the Atlanta Braves roster for Opening Day.

With pitching prospects like Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint making strong cases this week on why they should get a roster spot, the belief was that only some of them would get to be on the roster due to limited open spots.

However, with Mike Foltynewicz being officially declared not ready for Opening Day and Kevin Gausman having his second consecutive bad outing on Wednesday, more of those prospects could contribute to the main club in 2019 sooner than later.

Kevin Gausman

Gausman didn’t even get out of the first inning on Wednesday during his start against the Washington Nationals. He got one strikeout but two hits, a walk and yielded three earned runs… Not to mention that those two hits allowed were home runs.

With this start and his first start of spring last Friday, he now sits at a 27.00 ERA while going just two whole innings.

The 28-year-old became a surprise boost to the rotation when the Braves acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles; however, it seems 2019 is off to a rough start for him as he tries to prove that a mid-2018 renaissance wasn’t a fluke.

There hasn’t been any announcement that his shoulder issues are back or any other possible injuries, but as of right now, he could be declared as “Not Ready To Go.”

Johan Camargo

Another name that hasn’t exactly fired on all engines is Johan Camargo. During his four at-bats Wednesday, he struck out three times and grounded into a double play. He has a .226 BA for spring but has managed to get 7 hits and 2 RBIs.

He did play in right field and did well there. Camargo will be the Braves’ main utility guy in 2019 and expect to be a major pinch-hitter. Not exactly on fire with a couple weeks left until the season starts but he’s not really in a state of worrying yet.

Chad Sobotka

Another pitcher that was a contender for a bullpen role that will now most likely head to Triple-A instead is Chad Sobotka. Going 0.2 innings, he allowed two hits and two walks including two runs while recording only one strikeout.

One recent article pointed out that Sobotka’s success in Atlanta’s bullpen last year was something out of the ordinary and that his command and overall success could come down a bit for 2019, impacting his chances to get a roster spot.

Guys That Are Ready

Even though the Braves lost that game, there was a good amount of offense in that game including the Phenom Ronald Acuña Jr, who’s recently really picked it up. Others are doing enough to either remind everyone who they are and/or open some eyes for hype.

Ronald Acuña Jr.

Acuña is probably the most ready of the Atlanta Braves roster and he’s showing it big!

He went 3-3 on Wednesday including a triple, and for the second straight day was just a hit (a homer in this case) shy of the cycle.

To make this even more impressive, he’s currently on a streak of 8-8 with two homers, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs in his last nine plate appearances.

Three days ago, Ronald Acuña Jr. was batting .200.

He's now batting .429 after collecting 8 consecutive hits. #Braves
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) March 13, 2019

Ozzie Albies & Dansby Swanson

Both guys are kind of hitting the same at the moment, with Ozzie Albies hitting .259 and Dansby Swanson hitting .250 for spring.

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For the game against the Nats, Albies got two hits and two RBIs while Swanson got one hit and a steal.

Albies will be looking to getting back to how he was during the first half of the season. Swanson will try to get to the form before his Chicago injury.

Albies’ production saw a downturn at the middle of season after hitting .281 with 20 homers and 55 RBIs. After that blazing start, he almost immediately went cold, hitting .226 for the rest of the year.

Dan Winkler

Dan Winkler was one of the bullpen arms that has been doing really well this spring and he continued to do so during Wednesday’s game. With his hitless inning plus the strikeout, Winkler currently has a 0.00 ERA with three strikeouts over 3 innings.

If Winkler continues to do this, he’ll be another important piece in the bullpen again.

Max Fried

Max Fried was a little harder to judge with his performance. Technically, if this was the regular season, his short performance on Friday would be a fine long relief outing. Going three innings, Fried allowed two hits and two walks and an earned run. Fried currently owns a 3.48 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10.1 innings. He’s also a name being considered for a rotation spot.

It’s coming down to crunch time… and roster spots are available to those who earn them.