3. Braves will have Seven 20+ HR Hitters
If you like home runs, the 2021 Atlanta Braves will be the team for you.
The Braves as a team hit 103 HRs during the shortened 2020 MLB season, and were on track to hit among the most in a season in franchise history. Looking at the 2021 HR projections for the Braves, there is potential for up to seven Atlanta Braves with 20+ HRs.
Atlanta Braves HR Projections (via Baseball Reference)
- Ronald Acuna Jr.- 31
- Marcell Ozuna – 29
- Freddie Freeman – 27
- Dansby Swanson – 20
- Austin Riley – 24
- Travis d’Arnaud – 20
- Ozzie Albies – 16
It is inevitable that the Braves will have at least 4-5 players hit 20+ HRs, but don’t count out the players with work to do (Swanson, d’Arnaud, Albies).
Ozzie hit 24 HRs during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while Dansby and d’Arnaud were halfway there with 100 fewer games last season. Plus, if everyone else starts hitting home runs, hitting is infectious, right?
We saw in 2020 that this Braves offense can explode for a lot of runs often on any night. You should expect the same this season with a lot of HRs from multiple players throughout the season.
Could the Atlanta Braves lead the MLB in HRs in 2021? Atlanta finished 2nd behind only the Dodgers last season who hit 15 more than the Braves in 2020.
With a full season of players like Ozuna and Riley combined with the Dodgers losing a few big HRs hitters, it’s certainly possible.