Braves Midseason Position Player Report Cards

Well, we are just slightly over the halfway point of the 2012 season and the Atlanta Braves are sporting the 8th best record in baseball after 85 games with a 46-39 record.  There have been some lean years in the 21st century for the Braves, but the past couple of years, with the help of the Braves farm system, have made the Braves slightly inconsistent, but dangerous nonetheless. The term "lean" is relative and totally subjective; because I know there are Cubs fans out there who would love to win more than 75 games, whereas a 75-win season would be seen as a failure in Atlanta. 


Those upstart Nationals in our Nation's capitol are leading the NL East over the 2nd place Braves by 4 games. A lot of baseball is left to be played, and this Braves fan is very curious to see what happens when Nationals "ace"(a 15-7 career record does not constitute ACE in my book)  Stephen Strasberg approaches his "inning limit;" the Nationals front office claims that Strasberg will not pitch more than 170 innings this year. That means that if the pennant race is close in the NL East, and Strasberg hits that inning limit (it will happen in early September) then Davey Johnson will bench their #1 starter...I'll believe that when I see it. That being said, here are the mid-season grades for the Atlanta Braves:


STARTING POSITION PLAYERS:




Catcher ~ Brian McCann GRADE: C-

Knowing that Mac isn't going to be anywhere near Kansas City saddens me.  Brian McCann has been an all-star every year since his rookie year in 2005. except this year; and for good reason.  Mac is having a horrid season by his standards. His batting line (AVG./OBP/SLG) is a paltry .238/.301/.430; all three of these statistics are well below McCann's career averages. The only thing that saved Mac from receiving a D is the fact he has hit 4 homers in his last 4 games, which helped the Braves sweep the hated (and last place) Phillies going into the all-star break.  Hopefully the rest will do McCann well, because the Braves postseason hopes are partly rested on the shoulders of the Braves catcher; without his bat, we will be hard-pressed to make the post-season.

First Base ~ Freddie Freeman GRADE: C+

The runner-up to the Rookie of the Year in 2011 (losing to teammate Craig Kimbrel) is having a ho-hum first half of 2012. His line reads: .264/.318/.451 which are all below his career averages. The first quarter of the season Freeman was on a tear and looked as if he was unstoppable; flash forward two months and he only has 11 homers, but has an adequate 49 RBIs.  Baseball is a game of streaks and superstitions and all it takes are a few balls to start dropping in and Freeman will be back in the groove; look forward to a more productive 2nd half now that Freeman has adjusted to his new goggles instead of his usual contact lenses.

Second Base ~ Dan Uggla GRADE: D

The buffest second baseman in history is mired, yet again, in what seems like a season-long slump.  His batting average is an embarrassing .221 and he has only gone deep a dozen times.  It took a 33 game hit streak to get his .185 average over the Mendoza-line in 2011. Though as I stated for Freddie Freeman, all it takes is a little luck and Uggs can get his average back up to his career average of .256.  Hopefully hitting coach Greg Walker can work some magic with Uggs and get him back to crushing the ball out of the park, as well as raising his slugging percentage up from the current .395 up to his career mark of .475.

A) Shortstop ~ Tyler Pastornicky GRADE: C

"The Rev", as Tyler Pastornicky is known in the Braves clubhouse (Pastor-nicky, Reverend...get it?) played adequately in 45 games this season before losing the starting shortstop job to the slick-fielding Andrelton Simmons. Pastornicky posted a line of .248/.241/.324, had he not been a rookie I probably would have graded him at a D+, but I'm taking into consideration how young he is (22) and how he needs to grow into the role of everyday shortstop.


B) Shortstop ~ Andrelton Simmons GRADE:  A

This young man came into spring training this year and made an instant splash. Tyler Pastornicky during this past offseason was listed and discussed as the heir-apparent to take over everyday shortstop duties; until Braves coaches and manager Fredi Gonzalez got a demonstration of Simmons' glove. This kid has the potential to be a multi-gold glove award winner. As an added bonus, the youngster can hit!  He is currently boasting a line of .296/.336/.452 with 3 dingers and 15 RBIs in 33 games; not too shabby. Bad news on the last day before the all-star break had Simmons break his pinkie finger and land on the 15 day DL. He will be back folks, you can bank on that.

Third Base ~ Chipper Jones GRADE: A+++

The old gray mare still has it. When Chipper is in the lineup the Braves are a completely different team than when he has to rest his 40 year old body or when he has to take a trip to the 15 day DL.  Chipper has been the face of the Braves since my adolescence and I well up when I think of him walking off the field for the last time this fall. This first-ballot hall of famer is boasting a great line of .318/.396/.480 and has added 6 dingers, (including an improbable walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th over Philly) and will be the lynch-pin for the Braves to play in October. Left Field ~ Martin Prado GRADE: A MVPrado is to the Braves as Michael Young is to the Texas Rangers; he can play almost any position...well. Prado has played LF, 3B, 1B, he's a gamer who the Braves inexplicably tried to trade away this past off-season.  Believe me, I was elated when nobody took Prado. He's not too bad with the stick either; his line is .321/.382/.457, all of which are above his career averages.  The reason the Braves tried to fence him away was due to the fact that his production fell off after being unlucky enough to contract a staph infection in his calf.  In my opinion, Prado was one of the snubs of the all-star team this year, as his numbers are far better than Dan Uggla's, yet Uggla is a NL starter for this year's all-star game. Prado is the unsung hero of this organization and it's high-time the powers that be recognized that fact. Center Field ~ Michael Bourn GRADE: A 2012 All-star reserve Michael Bourn is the spark plug that leads to a lot of runs. He is one of the premier lead-off hitters in the Show and for good reason, he boasts an on-base % of .366 and has 25 steals at the break. Also, he is arguably the fastest man in the major leagues and led the majors in larceny last season with 61 steals (only Jose Costanza can give him a run for his money in the speed dept....excuse the terrible pun). Bourn is batting .311 and gives pitchers the heebie-jeebies when he takes his lead from first base. Hes no slouch in the outfield either; having won a pair of gold gloves while with the Houston Astros. Look for much of the same in the second half of this season and if I were Frank Wren, I'd be making promises and give him what he wants. He is the first true lead-off man we have had since Furcal. Right Field ~ Jason Heyward GRADE: A- To say J-Hey has turned his career around after a disastrous sophomore season would be an understatement of epic proportions.  How good Heyward was his rookie season of 2010, was exactly how bad he was last year. He has made adjustments, shortened up his swing and is showing more patience at the plate which has translated in raising his slugging % of .389 to a blistering .497 this season.  Also, J-Hey is becoming more of a terror on the base paths; he had 9 steals in all of 2011, he already has 11 this season which makes pitchers a little more nervous which could lead to a mistake thrown to a hitter. That previous scenario is a domino effect that makes baseball the special game that it truly is; America's pastime, no matter what the meatheads in the NFL say! BENCH PLAYERS/RESERVES: PH/Third Base ~ Juan Francisco GRADE: D Francisco has had 118 at-bats this season and translated that into a .220 batting average; not good when we need production in the form of a pinch hit or when Chipper needs a breather.  Francisco's on base percentage is almost microscopic at .256, again, NOT GOOD. His 38 to 1 strikeout to walk ration is mind-numbing. This translates to being way too aggressive at the plate and swinging at pitches outside of the strike-zone, plain and simple.  If Francisco doesn't pick it up in the 2nd half of the season, don't look forward to him being a Brave in 2013. Shortstop ~ Jack Wilson GRADE: D Jack Wilson was picked up from the Seattle Mariners at the end of the 2011 season almost exclusively for his defensive abilities; much like when Raphael Belliard backed up Jeff Blauser in the early 1990s.  As good as Wilson is with the leather, he is twice as bad with the bat.  So far this season in 69 at-bats he has produced a putrid batting average of .174 and a dismal slugging percentage of .194.  The former Pittsburgh Pirate starter is now in mentor status to work with the younger guys in the organization on how to field properly; much like when catcher Eddie Perez became the Braves bench coach. 3B/1B/PH ~ Eric Hinske GRADE: D- Hinske started off the season gangbusters. In his first 55 at-bats he was hitting .313 and was the most reliable pinch-hitter on the Braves bench. What a difference 2 months make. Hinske has 99 plate appearances and is dangerously close to falling below the Mendoza-line with a .202 batting average.  This huge man has 1 home run in 99 attempts...ONE HOME RUN.  That is just plain awful and I'm afraid if Hinske doesn't drastically improve his hitting, hitting for power and patience at the plate (only 10 walks this year) then he will be placed on waivers, given his outright release or perhaps someone will take him off our hands.  One category that Hinske is leading is the category of best tattoo (see below):    Left Field/Pinch Hitter ~ Matt Diaz GRADE: D While Matt Diaz is unquestionably a wonderful human being (see the Diaz Foundation) his bat has not been so wonderful this year.  While having exactly 100 plate appearances this year and only 23 hits to show for it, its easy to see he is batting a paltry .230.  The days are over when Bobby Cox had all the faith in the world in Matt Diaz, the sad truth is that since the Braves re-acquired Diaz from the Pirates last year, he is a shell of the scrappy player he was for the Braves for the better part of 5 years.  The one positive thing I can say about Matt Diaz is that he can still hit left-handers fairly successfully, but that is not enough to take away the fact that he is not the same "hit em where they ain't, mainly the opposite field" Diaz and the Braves need to move him before the trade deadline for a bench-bat that can provide the kind of consistency the Braves need in order to make a run into October. Catcher ~ David Ross GRADE: A David Ross is the one bright spot on the Braves bench. Not only does he provide valuable days off to Brian McCann, he has provided some pop at the plate. His line is .276/.345/.434 and his defense has been more than reliable; he has thrown out 38% of attempted steals.  Ross provides invaluable experience on the bench and is helping to groom younger players and is seen as the captain of the bench. OVERALL BRAVES POSITION PLAYER GRADE:  B The Braves are one trade away from going from the 8th best record in baseball to being perennial contenders for the NL East crown.  I fully look forward to a Washington National collapse once those youngsters (talking to you Bryce Harper) feel what its like to play a full schedule in the Show. Once Strasberg's inning limit comes to fruition, and the kid, Bryce Harper feels the fatigue of the dog-days of baseball and the marathon into September, expect the Braves to surge and take back what is rightfully theirs: The National League East pennant.