Atlanta Braves 2019 Report Card: Offensive and individual player grades

The Bench

OVERALL GRADE: B-

The Atlanta Braves came into the 2019 season with a much improved bench compared to last season, mainly from one single signing — Josh Donaldson — which instantly caused a trickle-down effect, both deepening the Braves’ bench AND allowing for much better pinch-hitting matchups.

Of course, we had no idea that Johan Camargo would struggle the way he did this season, so the early expectations regarding the Braves’ bench was rightfully high. But by the end of the season, the Braves’ bench was exhausted and depleted, thanks to injuries to starters (Inciarte) and injuries to themselves (Camargo and Culberson).

Obviously, Austin Riley’s run as the Braves’ starting left fielder didn’t last all season, but his 60-ish games at the position is well above the likes of Adam Duvall and Rafael Ortega (so excuse my arbitrary line between starter and regular).

Then there’s Charlie Culberson, who played a lot of games in 2019, but played numerous positions (both in the outfield AND infield).

Here are my grades for the Braves’ bench players…

UTIL / Charlie Culberson:  GRADE: B

108 games, .259/.294/.437, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 85 wRC+, 0.3 WAR

Charlie is who he is, which is an above average hitter versus lefties (119 wRC+ vs. LHP / 64 wRC+ vs. RHP) and a solid defender at multiple positions.

But in 2019, Charlie struck out a bit more than usual (30.6 K%) and weirdly enough… struggled to hit at home:

• Road: 46 games, 311 AVG., 110 wRC+
• Home: 45 games, .197 AVG., 54 wRC+

Overall, Charlie is a classic utility player and any production above replacement-level is a win for the Braves. No, he wasn’t as good as he was last season, but he was still important to the Braves in 2019.

INF / Johan Camargo:  GRADE: D

98 games, .233/.279/.384, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 67 wRC+, -0.5 WAR

Did I mention I don’t particularly like grading players?

Camargo had the biggest drop off this season, coming after an excellent 3.3-WAR year 2018, where he hit 19 home runs, batted .272 and played excellent defense at third base.

As I mentioned above, the expectations were high for him going into the 2019 season, but it just didn’t work out. Other than about a 4% drop in his hard-hit rate, Camargo’s underlying numbers look rather similar to his 2018 marks.

Some point to his inconsistent playing time this year and some say perhaps his 2018 season was a fluke:

• 2018 BABIP: .315
• 2019 BABIP: .258

We may never know. Hopefully 2020 is much better… wherever he might appear on the diamond.

OF /Adam Duvall:  GRADE: A

41 games, .267/.315/.567, 10 HR, 19 RBI, 121 wRC+, 0.7 WAR

No, his A grade isn’t just because he won the Braves two games with his bat in the NLDS this postseason. Duvall was a great player for the Atlanta Braves, once called up in late July.  He also deserves extra credit for re-working himself at AAA and embracing the assignment.

He set the bar pretty low with his 2018 performance, but Duvall posted the highest wRC+ of his six-year career in 2019, also providing the Braves with timely hits and well-played defense in the outfield.

OF / Billy Hamilton:  GRADE: B+

26 games, .268/.375/.317, 2 doubles, 4 SB

I’ll admit, I didn’t quite understand the claiming of Hamilton in mid-August. Sure, he’s fast and plays great defense, but he’s a very poor hitter.

Well, in the 26 games he spent with the Braves, Hamilton hit 26 points above his career batting average, got on base at a 37% clip (100 points higher over his Kansas City games and far above his career .297 pace) and even knocked in 3 runs — a fifth of all of his RBI in 119 games, in 2019.

Sure, these are very small samples and really not that imperative to the success of the 2019 Atlanta Braves, but Hamilton deserves credit for playing a lot better while with the team.

OF / Rafael Ortega:  GRADE: C+

34 games, .205/.271/.307, 2 HR (1 GRAND SLAM), 51 wRC+, -0.1 WAR

If this was Ortega’s grade for his performance with Gwinnett, than it would no doubt be an A+. But while he was with the Atlanta Braves, Ortega struggled (though he did find success in small spurts).

Ortega’s pull-happy tendencies from Triple-A (60.2% pull-rate!) didn’t work so well in the majors, as he wound up becoming just an extra body on the bench, though he still deserves credit for hitting one of the best home runs of the season:

SS / Adeiny Hechavarria:  GRADE: A

24 games, .328/.400/.639, 4 HR, 5 doubles, 1.1 bWAR

Yes that’s 1.1 WAR (Baseball Reference) in 24 games with the Atlanta Braves…or 70 plate appearances. (Fangraphs doesn’t break down players’ WAR from team-to-team.)

Hechavarría was awesome right out of the gate, flashing the leather and swinging the bat better than he ever has. Like Hamilton above, Hechavarría’s batting average with the Atlanta Braves was way higher than in his career (career .253 AVG), as well as his on-base percentage (career .290 OBP).

Of course… small samples, but these are time-with-the-Braves grades.

C / Francisco Cervelli:  GRADE: B+

14 games, .281/.378/.688, 2 HR, 5 doubles

What else could you ask from a guy with just 14 games worth of playing time?

Cervelli provided some leadership for the Braves’ pitchers, while also swinging a solid bat, considering the guy was hitting .193 with the Pirates, before joining the Atlanta Braves.

Of course… small samples.

*All stats and WAR totals are from FanGraphs, unless noted otherwise.

Those are my grades… what are yours? Let us know in the comments below.