Atlanta Braves are back in second but lack consistency

Atlanta Braves vs. the NL East

The pendulum’s swung back towards a game that rewards line drive hitters and players who get on base consistently because they don’t strike out, take their walks, and their lineup converts runners into runs at a higher rate.

Herewith are today’s numbers from the NL East.

(All statistics in this chart from Baseball-Reference.com)

The anonymous executive has a point. The only team NL team with a better WPA is the Dodgers.

While the Braves strike out at roughly the same pace as the rest of the East, they walk less often. This means Braves batters don’t reach base as often as their NL East rivals, and when they do, the lineup bats a worst-in-the-division and 13th-in-the-NL .219/.286/.351/.637 slash line.

Knowing and controlling the zone

Whiff rate and chase rate are helpful indicators of how well a player or team knows the zone. The Atlanta Braves’ 13.3% is the highest WHIFF rate in baseball; the Marlins come in at 26th, the Phillies at 21st, and the Nationals fall in at 12th. The Mets’ 10.3% is the fourth-lowest whiff rate in MLB.

The Braves also chase a higher percentage out of the zone than 23 other teams.  It isn’t hard to understand why they see the most first-pitch strikes and the fewest in-zone strikes in MLB.

Controlling the zone includes adjusting to the count. No one is asking players to bunt against some of the ridiculous shifts they face or suggesting the players paid to hit home runs significantly change what they do. However, having a two-strike approach would help.

Maybe Braves’ batters should think of every two-strike count as 3-2 count they’d do better because no team is better when batting with a full count.

(All statistics in this chart from Baseball-Reference.com)

Those numbers suggest that Braves’ batters can do what’s necessary, but they don’t appear to try until there’s no other choice.