2018 Remarkable! Season Preview – Atlanta Braves

by | Mar 16, 2018 | Baseball

 

2017 Record: 72-90 (3rd in NL East)

Atlanta traded Matt Kemp back to the Dodgers for Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, and Charlie Culberson. Gonzalez was promptly released while McCarthy and Kazmir are possible bounceback candidates from injury riddled 2017 seasons. While Charlie Culberson slots in as a utility player, he played some of his best baseball when filling in for Corey Seager in the 2017 postseason. The Braves system boast strong arms, but they might be a year away from impacting the major league club, while Ronald Acuna could break spring training with the Major League club. Here’s our Remarkable! season preview.

 

Starting Pitchers

 

Julio Teheran
  • He had a strike rate of 71.4% (942/1,320) vs right-handed batters in the 2017 season — 3rd highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 64.0%.
  • Right-handed hitters had a line drive rate of 18.0% (49/272) against Julio Teheran in 2017 — 19th lowest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 21.7%.
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .471 (56 Total Bases / 119 ABs) when he’s behind in the count in 2017 — 13th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .644.

 

Sean Newcomb
  • Left-handed hitters had a line drive rate of 37.3% (19/51) against Sean Newcomb in the second half of the 2017 season — 3rd highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 22.8%.
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .239 (17 Total Bases / 71 ABs) on curves and sliders in the second half of 2017 — 20th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .367.
  • Opponents had a miss rate of 41.4% (36/87) against Sean Newcomb on changeups in the second half of the 2017 season — 9th highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 29.9%.

 

Mike Foltynewicz
  • He had an average fastball velocity of 95.3 MPH in the 2017 season — 15th hardest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 92.1.
  • Opponents batted .444 against Mike Foltynewicz (16-for-36) on changeups in 2017 — worst among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .252.

 

Brandon McCarthy
  • He had a strike rate of 68.8% (106/154) vs left-handed batters in the second half of 2017 — League Avg: 62.2%.

 

Max Fried
  • Threw 86.2 innings in 2017

 

Relief Pitchers

 

2017 Bullpen Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .246 15th
OBP .328 T-20th
SLG .408 17th
OPS .736 T-17th
BB% 9.9% T-19th
K% 22.0% 20th
GB% 45.4% 15th

 

Arodys Vizcaino
  • He recorded 51 of his 64 strikeouts (79.7%) with his curveball in the 2017 season — 2nd highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 11.6%.

  • Right-handed hitters had a chase rate of 43.2% (101/234) against Arodys Vizcaino in 2017 — 7th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 30.6%.
  • Opponents hit .099 against Arodys Vizcaino (9-for-91) on curves and sliders in 2017 — 12th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .209.

 

Sam Freeman
  • He allowed an OPS of .502 (105 PAs) vs left-handed batters in the 2017 season — 20th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .728.
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 64.5% (40/62) against Sam Freeman on non-fastballs in 2017 — 5th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 47.3%.

  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .167 (7 Total Bases / 42 ABs) on inside fastballs in 2017 — 4th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .438.

 

Jose Ramirez
  • Right-handed hitters had a line drive rate of 14.2% (15/106) against Jose Ramirez in the 2017 season — 19th lowest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 20.9%.
  • He had an average fastball velocity of 97.2 MPH in 2017 — 16th hardest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 93.4.
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .195 (8 Total Bases / 41 ABs) on changeups in 2017 — 6th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .362.

 

Peter Moylan
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 61.7% (103/167) against Peter Moylan  in the 2017 season — 11th highest among 196 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.9%.
  • Right-handed hitters had a line drive rate of just 14.8% (20/135) against Peter Moylan in the 2017 season — 10th lowest among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 20.5%.
  • He threw his slider 47.2% of the time (426/902) in the 2017 season — 15th highest among 143 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 27.4%.

 

Daniel Winkler
  • Opponents had a Well-Hit Avg of .033 (1/30) against Dan Winkler on fastballs over the last 30 days of the 2017 season — best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .181.

  • Opponents had a chase percentage of 48.6% (18/37) against Dan Winkler with RISP over the last 30 days of the 2017 season — 10th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 34.3%.

 

Hitters

 

2017 Offense Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .263 T-5th
OBP .326 14th
SLG .412 T-23rd
OPS .738 21st
BB% 7.6% T-26th
K% 19.0% 3rd
QAB 2584 16th
wOBA .322 T-23rd

 

Tyler Flowers
  • He had an OBP of .433 (67 PAs) versus LHP in the 2017 season — 10th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .326.

  • He slugged .532 (50 total bases in 94 ABs) on curves and sliders in 2017 — 12th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .362.
  • He had an OPS of .899 (114 PAs) against right-handed relievers in 2017 — 19th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .726.

 

Freddie Freeman
  • He slugged .603 (428 total bases in 710 ABs) versus RHP in the last two seasons — 3rd best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .424.
  • He had a line drive rate of 28.7% (31/108) with two strikes in 2017 — 2nd highest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.2%.

  • He had an OBP of .403 (514 PAs) in 2017 — 10th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .324.

 

Ozzie Albies
  • He batted .462 (12-for-26) on inside fastballs in the 2017 season — best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .268.
  • He had a swing rate of 53.0% (279/526) on fastballs in 2017 — 16th highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 46.5%.
  • He had a line drive rate of 40.6% (13/32) on low fastballs in 2017 — 3rd highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 22.2%.

 

Dansby Swanson
  • He slugged just .308 (121 total bases in 393 ABs) versus RHP in the 2017 season — worst among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .428.

  • He had 6 HRs in 488 ABs (81.3 AB/HR) in 2017 — 5th worst among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 27.1.
  • He had an OPS of just .578 (338 PAs) versus starting pitchers in 2017 — worst among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .766.

 

Ender Inciarte
  • He had a Well-Hit Avg of just .094 (62/662) in the 2017 season — 4th worst among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .163.
  • He had 43 Extra-Base hits out of 201 total hits (just 21.4%) in 2017 — 4th lowest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 36.2%.

  • He missed 14.6% (197/1,349) of swung-on pitches in 2017 — 11th highest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 24.1%.

 

Nick Markakis
  • He had an OBP of .403 (345 PAs) on the road in the 2017 season — 11th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .318.
  • He missed 19.4% (80/412) of swung-on pitches on non-fastballs in 2017 — League Avg: 32.3%.

 

Johan Camargo
  • He had an OPS of 1.129 (76 PAs) versus LHP in the 2017 season — 4th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .745.
  • He has not drawn a walk in his last 46 PA’s against a RHP dating back to August 5, 2017 (Devon Travis has the longest active streak at 104).

 

 

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