Atlanta Braves Built to Dominate a Condensed Schedule

Shortstop and Second Base

There’s no question that Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies are the studs up the middle for the Braves. Adeiny Hechavarria is known for his glovework up the middle but in 24 games with the Braves last season, he posted an insane OPS+ of 159.

Don’t forget about Yangervis Solarte. He has logged time at first, second, third, short, and outfield. During 2016-2018 he averaged 120 games, 16 HRs, and 63 RBI while batting .255. Not a bad extra-utility guy.

Okay fine, wrestling is fake, but you know what is not? Dansby Swanson’s hair.

First Base

We don’t need depth behind Freddie, he’ll be working 14-hour days. Just in case, Austin Riley and Solarte have plenty of experience there. Veteran Yonder Alonso, who struggled this spring, could also be an option at first, too.

And how about our catchers? Tyler Flowers is one of the most dominant defensive catchers in the game, whether you want to admit it or not, and Travis d’Arnaud is known for his defensive prowess… Oh, by the way, he was a middle of the order bat for a 96-win Tampa Bay team last year. N

eed more catching? Alex Jackson, William Contreras, and Shea Langeliers are all lurking in the minors.

Brian Snitker could be the backup first baseman and we’d be okay.

Listen, folks, I’m not going to speculate on when they’ll play, if they’ll play, and how the schedule will look. I know there’s a lot of money on the line, a lot of people working on it, and a lot of safety concerns. However, if they do expand the rosters and if they crunch the schedule like the Captain did to his berries, then I’d say we are in ship-shape. What say you?