3 Braves hitters who are not helping themselves during spring training
The Braves had a few guys struggle at the plate to say the least in camp this year.
By Eric Cole
When it comes to the Atlanta Braves and spring training, the most important thing is for guys to just get back in shape and to stay healthy. The Braves saw last year with the rash of spring training injuries that they had to deal with that starting the season in one piece can be easier said than done. So far, Atlanta has avoided any serious issues unless Ronald Acuna Jr.'s knee starts acting up again.
Beyond just getting back in game shape and getting used to seeing live competition again, spring training numbers don't really mean all that much. Pitchers aren't throwing the way they will in the regular season as they work on stuff and hitters tend to hold back to make sure they don't tweak something before the season. Combine all of that along with standard small sample size weirdness and it is probably best to not read too much into spring training numbers too much.
That said, one thing that spring training numbers do tell us is how close to being dialed in a hitter is and in the case of a few Braves, they have some work to do.
Here are 3 Braves hitters who have had springs to forget in 2024
If a guy is on this list, it shouldn't be an argument to fire him into the sun. Hitters aren't playing enough in the spring or playing with the level of urgency to draw too many conclusions especially with so few roster spots for Atlanta actually being up for grabs. With that said, here are a few Braves hitters that have struggled this spring and warrant keeping an eye on heading into the 2024 season.
Justin Dean
A few years ago, it looked like the Braves had found a diamond in the rough in Justin Dean. The 17th round pick out of Lenoir-Rhyne could absolutely fly around the bases and after posting an .817 OPS at Rome in 2019 with 47 stolen bases, Dean was garnering a lot of attention as a prospect to watch in the Braves' farm system.
Unfortunately, Dean's progress didn't really stick. Over the last three seasons, Dean has struggled to get his OPS north of .700 as his hit tool regressed, although he has remained an excellent outfield defender and a stolen base threat. Needing a big bounce back season in 2024 to try and keep his big league aspirations alive, Dean's spring training hasn't gone well very well as he has just one hit in 12 games down at camp.