The Atlanta Braves come into today’s off day 30-33, sitting in third place in the NL East, five games back on division leader NY Mets. All this team needs is to get hot at the right time, put a few good games together, and turn this season around. To do that there are two key areas that need to change, the relief pitching and hitting. Starting pitching hasn’t been an issue, but again it hasn’t been stellar either. Coming in today, the Braves pitching staff is 19th in the majors with a 4.34 ERA. The team needs to get the ERA down a point. The Braves signed reliever Shane Green back to the roster a couple weeks back as he pitched with the Braves Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Stripers before being called up to the big team last week. Though I still don’t know why another team had not picked him up earlier this season, or why the Braves waited this late, but he’s with the team now. He’s had a couple of shaky inning, but hopefully once he gets comfortable back on the major league mound, his pitching will smooth out.
The Braves batting has been nothing but stagnant. There have been some good games where you think things are about to make a turn for the better, but then the batting goes back under a rock not to come out again for another five or six games. Right fielder Ronald Acuna, Jr started the season hot, but has cooled off a bit hitting .282 with 18 home runs. Third base Austin Riley is hitting .299 with 12 homers, and that’s about the extent of the offense over the first 63 games. If this offense is going to get the spark it needs, it is going to have to come from the leader of this team, 1B Freddie Freeman. I haven’t seen him have this bad of a season, ever. Last year he started off slow, but he had covid, and then he went on a tear to win the 2020 MVP. This year he just seems lost and uninspired to be out playing. He use to be all smiles and hugs, this year he is not. He doesn’t look happy. Not sure if it is his last year of his contract and nothing has been done about it. I know having children take a lot out of you, I know because I have three little girls ages nine and under, and he now has three boys. But whatever it is, he has to pick it up and bat better than he currently is at .237. He is still on pace to hit more than 30 home runs as he has 15 to date.
Ozzie Albies (1) should be back batting 2nd in the lineup/Courtesy of MLB.com
Braves Manager Brian Snitker needs to make a change in the batting lineup. With Marcell Ozuna out, Freeman needs to go back to hitting third in the batting order because there’s no more Ozuna hitting fourth as a cushion for Freeman. Second baseman Ozzie Albies needs to return hitting second in the lineup. The top two players in the lineup, Acuna, Jr and Albies need to show their speed in the top of the lineup and Freeman show his power and going to opposite field at number three in the lineup. But all three have the ability to hit the long ball. If I was going to make a change in the top eight batting order, it would be:
- Acuna, Jr
- Albies
- Freeman
- Riley
- Swanson
- Almonte
- Contreras
- Heredia
According to Snitker, “the guys have to keep grinding.” I just hope that is the case and it doesn’t get late June/July and it’s too late and a wash on the season.
Header photo courtesy of Sports Talk ATL
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