3 Atlanta Braves to watch for in a 60-game season

Atlanta Braves fans can only hope that something brilliant is on the horizon.

Wednesday’s announcement of a new proposal between team owners and the MLBPA is encouraging, given that it’s been a brutally long stretch without America’s pastime, but fans of the Atlanta Braves – and all of baseball – are cautiously optimistic that perhaps the dark days will end soon.

So let’s have some fun; let’s think best-case scenario.

Hypothetically-speaking, let’s say that the recent reports of progress come to fruition in the form of a 60-70 game regular season for MLB, with all the bells and whistles of an expanded playoff and a universal DH.

How exciting would that be?

The Atlanta Braves – they of the two consecutive National League East championships – have lofty ambitions for a hypothetical (hopefully soon-to-be reality) October to remember.

Logistically, baseball in 2020, if and when it occurs, would look awfully different in terms of the entire flow of the season.

A baseball regular season, the hallmark of which is normally that of a “marathon” over the course of several long, grueling summer months, would suddenly become transformed into a mad dash to the postseason, with roughly two-thirds (or more?) of the participants jockeying for legitimate postseason spots.

With that in mind, the players that have the most success with being “quick starters” – those that typically perform far better in the first halves of seasons on a yearly basis – might reap the benefits of a 60-70 game season.

The Atlanta Braves have a few of those such players on their roster.

Could these individuals propel the Braves to a division title (or at least a postseason berth) for a third consecutive year?

Their track records indicate they play their best baseball right out of the gates.

Here’s three Atlanta Braves that could thrive in a shortened season.