Braves 2022 Season Review: Statcast Edition

The 2022 season for the Atlanta Braves brought us some special moments on the diamond. Each fan can think of moments where a home run ball was hit over the chop house, or a pitch had fall off the table type movement. In this article we are going to look at the numbers behind those moments, a season review via Statcast.

Much of the Atlanta Braves recent success is product of the type of roster they want to have. It is clear AA has built a team that prioritizes hitting the baseball hard. And the 2022 Braves lineup was a direct indication of that. The lineup is unique in the way that each hitter has the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark.

Braves Statcast standouts – Hitting

To the surprise of no one, the Braves ranked near the top of the leaderboards in many of the statcast team hitting rankings. They ranked second in all of baseball in average exit velocity (89.9mph) and second in hard hit percentage (43.5%), both just behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Braves were second in all of baseball in home runs behind the Yankees (Aaron Judge) and they hit some serious tanks. They ranked second in all of baseball in average home run distance (406 ft) behind only the Colorado Rockies (Coors).

Enough of the runner-up finishes though, the Braves did lead the pack in a couple important hitting categories. Those being number of barrels (441) and barrels per plate appearance (7.3%). All of these numbers to showcase one thing. The Braves have achieved their goal, they do indeed hit the baseball hard and they do so more than the majority of the league.

Matt Olson had an April to remember. His start to his Braves career couldn’t have been much better and on April 27th, he produced the hardest hit ball by a Brave all season with this double that came off the bat at a cool 116.8 mph.

As far as the furthest hit baseball this year from a Brave, that belonged to our young phenom, Ronald Acuña Jr. Not only did our king hit the longest homer of the year, but he also led all of baseball in average home run distance (428 ft). Ronnie doesn’t hit cheapies.

Braves Statcast standouts – Pitching

While the Braves have mastered the formula for hitting the baseball hard, they also haven’t been bad at limiting hard contact with their elite pitching. Although striking out every batter that comes up is the most sure-fire way for run prevention it isn’t a realistic expectation, no matter how possible Spencer Strider makes it look.

Even though it seems the Braves get blooped to death sometimes, I’m looking at you New York Mets, getting weak contact and limiting base runners is generally a successful formula for run prevention.

As a team the Braves pitching staff ranked seventh in all of baseball in average exit velocity with a 88.1 mph mark. A great rotation and lethal bullpen was also enough to rank second in the majors in barrels per plate appearance (4.3%).

Max Fried was the runner-up for the NL Cy Young award this year and much of his success was a product of limiting hard contact. Fried finished fifth in baseball, among pitchers with at least 250 batted ball events, in average exit velocity (86.2 mph).

Fried was also fifth in barrels per plate appearance (2.9%) and not far behind was his teammate Spencer Strider who finished seventh with a (3.2%) mark.

However, we did have a Braves pitcher at the top of the leaderboard in a few categories. That of course was the rookie of the year runner-up, Spencer Strider. He lead all pitchers, again with at least 250 batted ball events, in xERA (2.39), xSLG (.279) and xwOBA (.242).

As for individual pitch type standouts, Charlie Morton’s curveball ranked in the 98th percentile for spin rate (3068 RPMs). The 38 year-old still can spin a beautiful curveball and last year he got plenty of swings that showcased why that is still a very effective pitch.

Braves Statcast standouts- Fielding

All of Braves country adores Ron Washington. Not only for his aggressive sends around third base, but also the daily work he puts in on defense with the Braves infield.

Eric Young Sr. also does his part in outfield instruction. As a result the Braves once again had some stellar rankings in the defensive department.

The Braves ranked ninth as a team in Outs Above Average (OAA) and the infield was fifth among all MLB infields with 17 OAA.

The Braves had two players win the gold glove at their position in Max Fried and Dansby Swanson. These two guys made all the plays you are supposed to make, as well as some of the spectacular plays you thought they had no shot in making.

Dansby was second in all of baseball with 21 OAA. This was his best year defensively in his career and he continuously made plays that made his pitchers very happy.

The outfield flashed the leather a few times as well last year. In particular, Michael Harris II, who really stabilized the Braves outfield all together.

The rookie of the year finished with seven OAA and tied for fifth in baseball in number of four-star catches (9), catches with a 26-50% catch probability. In addition to his glove, baserunners quickly found out not to test Michael Harris’ arm.

Looking at all the Statcast numbers just further proves a point all Braves fan already know, we are a good baseball team. We can hit the ball hard, limit hard contact, and field the ball with the best of them. Ultimately, this formula makes for some fun baseball to watch and winning product on the field.