Atlanta Braves April Aftermath: MVPs and LVPs

Like we did last year we will present the hitting and pitching MVPs and LVPs for each month this season, beginning with the first forgettable month.

Hitting MVP:  This is an easy one. Just about the only guy hitting on this team is Martin Prado. Our terrific second baseman is second in the league in hitting, fifth in on-base percentage, and in the top-20 in OPS. As good as our old second baseman Kelly Johnson is doing in Arizona, Prado is handling his first opening day starting assignment as good as we could have hoped. Jason Heyward gets a nod here in the MVP category. His key hits have been vital to the Braves winning the games they have won, and right now he's just about the only Braves batter contributing power to the lineup.

Martin Prado

#14 / Second Base / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 27, 1983

Hitting LVP: Wow. Who to choose for this one. You could just about throw a dart at the Braves lineup card and whomever it landed on could be the hitting LVP. Troy Glaus has been nothing the Braves expected him to be, but even with a .200/.300/.300 slash line, there are others who have been far worse. Yunel Escobar, while showing signs of turning it around in the last few games, has not been his normal consistent self. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are not hitting up to their standards or the standards the fans set for them. Both Melky Cabrera and Nate McLouth have been less than worthless at the plate, but the prize goes to Matt Diaz. While this may be tough for some to take, Matt has been extra worthless in the batters box. Right now he has virtually no redeeming offensive traits. He is last on the team in on-base percentage at a pitiful .239 due to his complete inability to take a walk. Even against left-handed pitchers he's only hitting .227. Of his 9 hits, one-third of them came in one game.

Matt Diaz

#23 / Right Field / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 03, 1978

Pitching MVP: There are not too many contenders for this one. Just about everyone in the bullpen pitched well, but no one was dominant. It's hard to believe that we only have 1 save from our closer. Tim Hudson has done a good job so far this season, but he's been out-pitched by Tommy Hanson, who gets the April pitching MVP. Tommy hasn't gone too deep into games, save for the last game of the month, but he has given the team a chance to win every time out by limiting opponents to just 2 runs in each of his 5 starts. He's also striking out more than a batter per inning. One thing is for sure, Hanson and Hudson have been the saviors of this staff so far this season.

Tommy Hanson

#48 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-6

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 28, 1986

Pitching LVP:  There are several contenders for the LVP and they're all in the starting rotation. Derek Lowe's ERA is certainly high enough to warrant this award, and his WHIP is the highest on the team. But Lowe has 3 wins, and no matter how he came by them that's more than the rest of the Braves starters combined. Kenshin Kawakami is leading the league in losses, but most of that is not his fault. Yes, he has an atrocious 5.48 ERA, but the team has scored a grand total of 5 runs in his 4 starts, including 2 shutouts. He runs a very close second to this month's pitching LVP, Jair Jurrjens. JJ had one really bad game and he had to leave because of injury in his last start of the month. He did make three other fairly decent starts, but the short inning appearances have really put a strain on the bullpen and given Braves fans great concern about the health of Jurrjens. There's also worry that he is regressing from his last two stellar years.

Jair Jurrjens

#49 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 29, 1986