Battery Power - 2018 Atlanta Braves Player ReviewsYour one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braveshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52890/favicon-32x32..png2018-11-10T12:00:06-05:00http://www.batterypower.com/rss/stream/177217952018-11-10T12:00:06-05:002018-11-10T12:00:06-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Dan Winkler
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<figcaption>Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Dan Winkler was one of the Braves’ better relievers for the Braves in the first half. The second half was....not as kind.</p> <p id="XuAeOx">The <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a>’ bullpen was quite maligned during the course of the 2018 season, but one of the success stories (at least in the first half) was in reliever <span>Dan Winkler</span> whose future with the team is one of the more interesting decisions the team must make.</p>
<p id="NNm2SQ"><span>Winkler</span> was taken with the 20th round of the 2011 draft by the <a href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> and began his career as a starter where he excelled in Colorado’s minor league system. He posted big time strikeout numbers and was moving quickly through their system. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and the Braves, sensing an opportunity for an upside arm, took him in the Rule 5 draft that year. He returned to action in 2015 and showed an intriguing mix of stuff although he certainly was a bit rusty. Before he could really get into a groove, he suffered a truly horrific injury early in 2016 where he fractured his elbow on a pitch (don’t watch it if you are squeamish at all) which cost him the 2016 season and most of the 2017 season.</p>
<p id="BJTDOS">Coming into the 2018 season, it was unclear what <span>Winkler</span> was going to be for the Braves given how much time he had missed to injury. However, he was without question one of the better relievers for the Braves through the first few months of the season. After a lights out April and May to go along with a less than good June, <span>Winkler</span> posted a 3.00 ERA in the first half while striking out 11.08 batters per nine innings pitched and walking just 2.54. Unfortunately, Winkler seemed to hit a wall in the second half where his numbers were significantly worse where he was striking out two less batters per nine, walking guys at a significantly higher rate, and posted a 4.22 ERA after the break (it is worth mentioning that he did sneak in a good month of August which helped his overall line).</p>
<p id="DFsqzK">While Winkler certainly had his issues this past season, he also showed real flashes and its important to note that his 69 appearances and 60.1 innings pitched last year represent almost double the amount of playing time he had over the previous three seasons COMBINED. He looked gassed as the season went on and when one looks at the big jump in usage (especially when he was used so heavily early in the season), it is easy to understand why and give him a bit of a pass on some of his struggles.</p>
<p id="HpSPAB"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018?</strong> Winkler posted a 3.41 ERA in 69 appearances (60.1 innings) with 69 strikeouts and 20 walks. He was particularly nasty against righties who hit just .192 against him. </p>
<p id="J3J823"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019? </strong>Very likely. There are few certainties in the Braves’ bullpen right now given how much they struggled as a unit in 2018, but Winkler was far from its biggest problem. He generally wasn’t a huge offender in terms of giving up walks and one can imagine that with an offseason of rest and having built some strength up from his work this past season, he could be a valuable piece in the bullpen. Its possible that he may not be completely healthy given his history and how much his production dropped off, but nothing points to that being an issue in the public sphere. The Braves will most certainly make upgrades in the bullpen, but Winkler’s spot seems secure.</p>
<p id="VJRv2H"><strong>What will he do in 2019?</strong> Its fair to assume that Winker’s usage will be monitored next season, especially if the bullpen is improved this offseason as many expect. He has the stuff to do good work in high leverage situations, particularly against righties, but probably shouldn’t be a guy that is run out there 70-80 times a season. Expect production similar to what he posted in the first half, but spaced out a bit more as the Braves should, in theory, have other reliable options to give him more breaks during the season. </p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/10/18082016/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-dan-winklerEric Cole2018-11-09T14:00:01-05:002018-11-09T14:00:01-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Luke Jackson
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<figcaption>Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Luke Jackson had a surprisingly solid season after changes in how he pitches - and he looks to continue the solid work into 2019</p> <p id="FSN5gu">What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you read the name <span>Luke Jackson</span>? What if I told you his 0.3 fWAR was higher than <span>Jesse Biddle</span>’s? What if I told you his 0.3 fWAR was higher than that of anyone on this list of players: <span>Jose Ramirez</span>, <span>Josh Ravin</span>, <span>Chase Whitley</span>, <span>Wes Parsons</span>, <span>Lucas Sims</span>, <span>Kyle Wright</span>, <span>Evan Phillips</span>, <span>Kolby Allard</span>, and <span>Peter Moylan</span>?</p>
<p id="iTlq40">When you look at his traditional stats there isn’t too much to like - 1-2 record, 4.43 ERA, 4.65 BB/9 rate. But if you dig a little deeper - Jackson flashed a enough to be considered a potentially useable bullpen arm — and not just at the minor league level. Jackson had a high .339 BABIP which shows he was a bit unlucky, and as a result of that poor luck his LOB rate leaves a lot to be desired: 70.2%. The <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> showcased top tier defense in 2018, but they they really let Jackson down as he way outpitched his ERA to the tune of a 3.55 FIP. Meanwhile, he posted a solid 25% strikeout rate, which is something you want to see out of your relief options.</p>
<p id="gmrFWS">Now don’t get me wrong - I’m not calling <span>Luke Jackson</span> an elite reliever however I firmly believe the hates he gets isn’t as warranted as many believe. Compared to previous seasons, he looked a lot better and that’s because he might have found something in his slider - a pitch he used significantly more in 2018 (42.2% up from 29.9%). Throwing his slider a lot more apparently kept hitters more off balance and let his fastball play off of this; his pitch value for his fastball (1.9) was the highest of his career. His boogers picked (wBOOG+) lead the majors.</p>
<p id="WtKsd1"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018?</strong></p>
<p id="k5F2E6">In the majors: 1-2, 40.2 IP, 4.43 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.52 WHIP, 10.18 K/9, 4.65 BB/9.</p>
<p id="pduuMO">In the minors: 2-1, 21.1 IP, 1.69 ERA, 1.55 FIP, 0.98 WHIP, 14.35 K/9, 4.22 BB/9.</p>
<p id="xQCPuu"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019? </strong>At this point, who knows if he will even make the Spring Training roster, much less the major league roster. But, relief demands being what they are, if he pitches well again at Gwinnett, he’ll get another look in Atlanta. </p>
<p id="s4PYsR"><strong>What is he going to do in 2019? </strong>I believe what we saw last year was a slightly unlucky pitcher who pitched to the best of his capabilities. With the ball going his way next season and you may see a 0.5 fWAR relief pitcher. Things to work on include his ugly walk rate, which precludes his usage in higher-leverage situations, and he didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he could face lefties either with an xFIP against them near 5.00. </p>
<p id="hamLoR"><strong>Highlight of 2018</strong>: Believe it or not, Jackson actually threw a scoreless high-leverage inning that worked out well for the Braves. On June 25, he worked around a two-out walk (always with the walks) to retire the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> in order in the 11th before <span>Ozzie Albies</span> ended the game with a walkoff homer.</p>
<p id="v1212Z">Also, never forget this bizarre moment, when the Braves asked <span>Luke Jackson</span> to enter the game with the bases loaded and two outs while up by four to face <span>Adam Eaton</span>, and Jackson somehow managed to come through.</p>
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<p id="xCZYO7"><strong>Lowlight of 2018</strong>: Not even a hard call. The Braves had a two-run lead in the sixth in Phoenix, and pulled <span>Touki Toussaint</span> after he allowed two runners to reach base with two outs. Inexplicably, Luke Jackson was inserted into this close, meaningful game with the tying runs on base, and things went more or less as potentially expected: single, walk, single, single — pulled from the game. Jackson threw 21 pitches across four batters and got zero outs, turning a two-run lead into a two-run deficit in the process. Yay. Except not yay. Luckily, the Braves’ heroics, including a huge <span>Ender Inciarte</span> three-run homer bailed him and the bewildering decision to insert him into a close game out.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/9/18075204/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-luke-jacksonGaurav Vedak2018-11-09T10:00:04-05:002018-11-09T10:00:04-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Brad Brach
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<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Brach was acquired midseason and did OK. </p> <p id="ZwaGqO">In Baltimore, Brach appeared in 42 games where he compiled a 4.85 ERA, 4.4 BB/9, 8.8 K/9 and a 1.769 WHIP. The <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> saw something they liked and bought low on the reliever — with GM Alex Anthopoulos making it known that they wanted to help him tweak a couple of things to get back to where he was during that fantastic 2016 season where he went 10-4 with a 2.05 ERA and 2.92 FIP in 71 games. He was acquired by the Braves in an unusual way, as the Braves traded $250,000 of their international slot money, money they could not use, to get the righty in hopes that he could rebound over the remainder of the year.</p>
<p id="WCO2s9">The walks were certainly an issue for Brach as his line of .239/.376/.286 in high leverage situations makes you both happy and sad at the same time. Brach also showcased a definite platoon situation coming into the 2019 season as lefties hit .327/.423/.415 off of him, while righties hit .242/.297/.395. In the end, Brach finished his season with a 4.88 xFIP against lefties but a 3.79 xFIP against righties. With the Braves, 38 out of the 99 batters he faced were lefties, and he allowed a 3.79 FIP / 4.82 xFIP to them, compared to a perfectly fine-to-good 2.75 FIP and 3.55 xFIP against righties. As usual, usage tended to be more of an issue than skillset.</p>
<p id="z1TkAK"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018? </strong>While he certainly wasn’t the Brach of 2016, he still provided a ton of value for the Braves as he went 1-2 with a 1.52 ERA, 1.310 WHIP, and 3.12 FIP while having one of the unluckiest seasons of his career as he had a .344 BABIP and a wOBA that exceeded his xwOBA-allowed by over .025. Still, if some Braves fans are glad to part ways with him, that’s not surprising: he somehow managed a -0.34 WPA in 27 appearances, and gave up the runs that ended up eliminating the Braves from the postseason. </p>
<p id="LWKI4Y"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019? </strong>The Braves probably <em>could</em> re-sign him if they were so inclined, and he might represent a cheaper option than other relievers on the market. But, with declining velocity and an inability to pitch well against lefties, he may not be the next option. When in doubt, take the field over the idea that Brach is going to sign with any one particular team, whether it’s the Braves or not.</p>
<p id="yaJsZM"><strong>What is he going to do in 2019? </strong>A return to his normal luck (career .284 BABIP) could help Brach return to his former glory. While the diminishing K rate (8.62 K/9) is a bit of a red flag, along with the diminished control (4.02 BB/9), relievers are so volatile that predicting one thing or another doesn’t seem too safe. Brach could continue to decline and end up just a generic relief option next year, or he could bounce back and post a high-quality relief season.</p>
<p id="kWOW0v"><strong>Highlight of 2018</strong>: After the Braves won another crazy game in the desert following <span>Dansby Swanson</span>’s scamper home on a wild pitch, Brach slammed the door on the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> with a scoreless bottom of the tenth. That last fly out he got was momentarily scary given how treacherously the Atlanta bullpen had pitched around that time (they had allowed three runs late in this very game), but settled neatly in a glove to give the Braves a win.</p>
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<p id="iOMNTP"><strong>Lowlight of 2018</strong>: Two things come to mind here, and they’re very different, yet also kind of the same. One was an absolutely brutal outing that tanked Brach’s WPA well into the negatives for his Atlanta tenure. Facing the <a href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> with a one-run lead in the ninth, and saddled with a <span>Dansby Swanson</span> error to lead off the inning, Brach ended up allowing not just the tying run, but two additional runs after getting two outs in the inning as part of a miserable four-game sweep endured by the Braves at SunTrust Park. Brach was for some reason made to pitch to three lefties in the sequence, each of whom reached base, and two of whom got the game-tying and go-ahead hits. On a usage basis, it wasn’t really his “fault,” but it was brutal anyway.</p>
<p id="zaFCdC">Which, of course, brings us to the fact that Brach was on the hill when <span>David Freese</span> hit the squibber back up the middle that took away Atlanta’s last lead of the season, and led to their elimination from the postseason a few innings later. Again, not really his fault, as he got the weak contact with two outs he wanted... it just ended up in the wrong place. So it goes.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/9/18075332/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-brad-brachGaurav Vedak2018-11-08T14:00:08-05:002018-11-08T14:00:08-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Adam Duvall
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<figcaption>Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Duvall struggled in 2018. </p> <p id="zJ2fzH">When the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Atlanta Braves</a> acquired <span>Adam Duvall</span> from the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Cincinnati Reds</a> at the Trade Deadline, they hoped that he would be able to provide some right-handed punch to their lineup, or at least their bench. The original plan was for <span>Duvall</span> to enter into a platoon situation with Ender Inciarte. There was just one problem: <span>Duvall</span> hadn’t hit much in 2018 for the Reds and he hit even less once he arrived in Atlanta. </p>
<p id="fm1266"><span>Duvall</span> hit just .205/.286/.399 with 15 home runs in 105 games with the Reds, though that line came with a fine .330 xwOBA that he substantially underperformed (.295 wOBA). After the trade, he went just 7-for-53 with a double, three walks and 17 strikeouts. With Duvall unable to shake out of his slump, the Braves were forced to scrap their platoon plans and ultimately left him off the postseason roster. Of course, it isn’t like the Braves tried that hard to platoon him, anyway, as he faced 30 right-handed pitchers and just 27 left-handed pitchers over the season’s last two months. But the reality was that he managed just a .206 xwOBA after coming over from the Reds, including a .157 xwOBA against lefties, whom he was supposed to crush.</p>
<p id="MiUVe6">Duvall’s struggles after donning an Atlanta uniform were widespread. His swing rate ballooned by nearly 10 percent, with an even greater gain in chasing pitches outside the zone. However, the weird part was that his contact on pitches he chased increased, while his contact on pitches in the zone collapsed miserably, way below what he had done before. Making contact on balls and missing strikes is a recipe for disaster, and that’s what he cooked up in his fifty-odd PAs as a Brave. Pitchers actually adjusted to this very easily and threw him more pitches in the zone, especially first-pitch strikes, but he didn’t do anything with them. The jury is still out as to whether he was injured or there was some other explanation for his production collapse, but it was far from a positive development no matter what the explanation is.</p>
<p id="al1cZd">Despite his struggles, acquiring Duvall was a worthy gamble for the Braves. He hit 33 home runs in 2016 and 31 in 2017 while playing Gold Glove caliber defense in left field. He turned 30 in September but will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason. His fate may be tied to what upgrades the team makes this offseason. He clearly struggled as a part-time player but his power potential from the right side of the plate makes him worth a shot, assuming he’s done being mired in whatever afflicted him in August and September 2018. </p>
<p id="iYBC4w"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018? </strong>Played good defense and was named a Gold Glove finalist in left field. However, he had a career-worst season at the plate hitting .195/.274/.365. He was pretty serviceable against lefties despite being unlucky before the trade, and had one of the worst 50-PA stretches Braves fans have seen in a while after the trade.</p>
<p id="tE8ZFQ"><strong>Will he be on the roster next year? </strong>Maybe? Duvall is arbitration eligible for the first time in his career at age 30 where he <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/mlb-arbitration-salaries-2019.html">is projected for a $3.1 million salary</a>. As noted above, this really depends on what else the Braves do. He’s not necessarily a great fit for a team that completely reinvents its weak bench, but he’s a more-than-adequate option if the team takes the path of least resistance to fielding a 2019 roster.</p>
<p id="QhbdNM"><strong>What is he going to do in 2019? </strong>Duvall had a career-low .237 BABIP in 2018 so that can explain some of his struggles but he never really recorded high BABIP numbers in the first place. If the Braves keep him, then they will be hoping that he can come to spring training with a fresh start and can adapt to more of a bench role. There’s still the hope that he can function as a fine fourth outfielder going forward, providing solid corner outfield defense and pop against left-handed pitchers, but his recent z-contact issues loom large. Bouncing back with someone (not necessarily the Braves) to be a decent bench player won’t be surprising, but neither will a replacement-level performance if he can’t figure out his hitting demons.</p>
<p id="21ylKU"><strong>Highlight of 2018</strong>: Boy, this is really scraping the bottom of the barrel. On August 20, with the Braves clinging to a narrow 1-0 lead, he came up as a pinch-hitter against lefty reliever Stephen Brault and actually managed to line a single to left for one of his few hits as a Brave. The Braves didn’t manage to score in that inning despite getting two on with none out, but you came to the Adam Duvall 2018 Atlanta Braves highlight section, so... I don’t know what to tell you.</p>
<p id="MRzYgA"><strong>Lowlight of 2018</strong>: Pretty much everything after the trade, really. Duvall somehow managed to finish his season with -2.37 WPA, -1.29 of which was acquired in his fifty-odd PAs with the Braves. As a Brave, he had 10 PAs with a leverage index above 2.00, and went 0-for-10 despite facing five lefties in that span. His results, by order of leverage, were: strikeout looking, strikeout looking, strikeout swinging, foulout to first, fly out, pop out, fly out, strikeout swinging, strikeout swinging, fly out. The most brutal of these was when he struck out with the Braves down by one, bases loaded, one out in the eighth against <span>Brad Ziegler</span>, but at least <span>Ziegler</span> is a righty that’s kinda tough on righties and it’s not clear why Duvall was batting in that situation (he was brought in to face a lefty reliever, but could have been pulled before getting carved up by <span>Ziegler</span>). Nor was immune from failing to come up big against lefties: the aforementioned Stephen Brault struck him out in a tie game with runners on second and third to end a seventh inning at one point.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/8/18074088/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-adam-duvallKris Willis2018-11-07T12:00:04-05:002018-11-07T12:00:04-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Peter Moylan
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<figcaption>Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Braves went to an old friend for help with their bullpen in 2018. Unfortunately, that gamble did not quite work out.</p> <p id="gEAIar">One of the bigger surprises from the 2017 season was how durable reliever <span>Peter Moylan</span> was for the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> as he made 79 appearances for the team despite being in his late 30’s. <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> fans remembered how effective he could be from his previous stint with the team as well as his affable personality, so when the Braves signed him to a deal before the 2018 season fans were cautiously optimistic.</p>
<p id="kHEbvq">Unfortunately, there does appear to be a reason why older relievers who have undergone two Tommy John surgeries and a shoulder surgery do not have a ton of longevity in the league. Honestly, it is impressive that he has been able to last as long as he has to his credit.</p>
<p id="qwnFyy">To say that <span>Moylan</span>’s (likely) final tenure with the team was disappointing seems like a fair assessment. After a 2017 season with the Royals that saw him make a ton of appearances and post a 3.49 ERA and 4.00 FIP, his numbers in 2018 were significantly worse with a 4.45 ERA and 5.49 FIP and that doesn’t include all of the inherited runners that he allowed to score. His strikeout rate of 7.31 K/9 was in line with what he had done in his career, but his walk rate (like many other Braves’ relievers) was abysmal at 5.72 BB/9 which was easily a career high. </p>
<p id="msBtEl">As a result of his struggles, <span>Moylan</span>’s usage decreased as the season went on before he went on the disabled list in July with a right forearm strain. He returned briefly before going back on the DL and eventually getting placed on the 60-Day DL with the same injury which ended his season. </p>
<p id="ZGcjOH"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018?</strong> Moylan posted a 4.45 ERA and 5.49 FIP in 39 appearances (28.1 innings) with the Braves before misses the final couple months of the season on the disabled list.</p>
<p id="kZJP0j"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019?</strong> The answer to that seems to be no. While Moylan does provide a strong clubhouse presence (yes, yes....insert your jokes here) that is valued by the Braves, he was simply not good in 2018. All good things must come to an end and the Braves have access to better bullpen options right now. Moylan was already declared a free agent and there has been no indication at all that the Braves have been interested in re-signing him.</p>
<p id="4JlJzD"><strong>What will he do in 2019?</strong> Its possible that he will try to play in 2019, but after a tough season in 2018...its hard to see a particularly robust market for his services. He is definitely a guy that could end up as a coach in the league and it is very possible he begins that transition in 2019. That could very well be with the Braves where he could be valuable as a roving instructor or something to that effect to start with to see if he enjoys coaching and then he could go from there.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/7/18034500/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-peter-moylanEric Cole2018-11-06T14:00:04-05:002018-11-06T14:00:04-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Ozzie Albies
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<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Braves’ young second baseman had a very solid sophomore season.</p> <p id="I7r2ri">There were many question marks surrounding the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves’</a> young second baseman coming into his second professional, and first full, MLB season. He quickly left little to doubt in the opening weeks of 2018.</p>
<p id="56KVrC">As April rolled around, Albies hit the ground running and piled up 9 home runs, 22 extra base hits and 34 total hits on the month, leading Braves Country into an early frenzy about the possibility of him winning an MVP award. </p>
<p id="TU8qHV">Albies didn’t quite manage to replicate his April production (158 wRC+) afterwards, but continued to roll, putting up a 104 wRC+ from May 1 through the All-Star Break. He collected 11 homers in that period to go with his nine dingers in April and earned his first selection to the All-Star Game, just slightly missing out on a starting role at second base to <span>Javier Baez</span>. </p>
<p id="wM3gfU">It wasn’t all roses, however, as he collapsed after the All-Star Break in the season’s second half. His wRC+ was 67 in the final 10 weeks of the year, and he added just four homers and 17 total extra-base hits to his ledger after mid-July. While it’s tempting to say that his early success was propped up by unsustainable results (and indeed, a .353 wOBA on a .311 xwOBA in the first half speaks to this), this belies the fact that he pretty much got dramatically worse as the season worse on:</p>
<ul>
<li id="buuFfc">April: .410 wOBA, .332 xwOBA</li>
<li id="1wXsYF">May: .317 wOBA, .312 xwOBA</li>
<li id="57vkLg">June: .323 wOBA, .300 xwOBA</li>
<li id="2GnA3n">July: .334 wOBA, .277 xwOBA</li>
<li id="RhI8er">August: .271 wOBA, .269 xwOBA</li>
<li id="riATC4">September: .284 wOBA, .275 xwOBA</li>
<li id="dWmdPz">NLDS: .176 wOBA, .275 xwOBA</li>
</ul>
<p id="mtK2Oo">Still, Albies finished his year with 24 home runs, a 100 wRC+ and 14 steals. While those numbers might not sound earth shattering after the amazing start he had, it is paramount to remember that he is only 21 years old and is potentially “ahead of the game.” </p>
<p id="yY3WAv">He is not a finished product at this moment and Atlanta fans should be very excited to see what is in store for Albies who may have a solid chance of competing for the NL MVP award for many seasons to come.</p>
<p id="ITGB3b"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018? </strong>Made his first All-Star team while leading one of the youngest teams in baseball to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Started to make adjustments in his swing as the rest of baseball adjusted to him after his hot start to the season. Finished with 3.8 fWAR in 684 PAs, with great baserunning adding half a win, and near-elite defense at second base contributing greatly to his value. Probably not enough was said about Albies’ defense over the course of the season, potentially overshadowed by his hot start and then his lengthy struggles. But, he was consistently high quality at the keystone, finishing in the top 30 among all position players in Fangraphs’ Def in five of the season’s six months. This is especially impressive given that the positional adjustment he receives in Def is only +2.5, which puts him at a five-run disadvantage relative to center fielders and shortstops, and at a 10-run disadvantage relative to catchers.</p>
<p id="48mw4J"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019?</strong> Absolutely. Ozzie Albies is one of the Braves’ cornerstone pieces and is expected to be in an Atlanta uniform for most of the next decade. He still has work to do, but he’s a pivotal part of the franchise and isn’t going anywhere.</p>
<p id="ffnXAe"><strong>What is he going to do next year?</strong> Nobody has a clue, and that is both scary and exciting. Ozzie had one of the more up-and-down seasons in MLB history where he looked like the next <span>Jose Altuve</span> one minute and looked like 2014 <span>Dan Uggla</span> the next, so anything is possible next season. Placing bets would have me guessing that Ozzie makes big time adjustments and plays out of his mind next to his best friend next season. It just seems so much like he is meant to be a superstar. A more reasonable outlook could see him repeating 2018, albeit with more consistency. No matter what happens with his bat (and he has adjustments to make about facing right-handed pitching), he appears to have a solid baserunning and defense backstop that will serve to prop up his value.</p>
<p id="HiWrdr"><strong>Highlight of 2018</strong>: His month of April as mentioned above. He set the Braves franchise record for extra base hits in a single month and nearly set the Major League Baseball record. He was the spark plug to the entire magical 2018 season for the Braves. Even in early May, the magic was still going strong. Here’s Albies’ first career grand slam, which turned a tense 1-1 game into an eventual 9-2 laugher.</p>
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<p id="ClyYcp"><strong>Lowlight of 2018</strong>: His post All-Star break work. Albies really had issues with his swing in the second half, but continued to make adjustments that worked as he went. Hitting .223 and posting a wRC+ of 65 over a two month period is a lowlight for any Major League player though. A good example of his struggles in microcosm was August 31: the Braves had the tying run on second with one out in the ninth against tough <a href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> closer Felipe Vazquez. While Albies’ struggles were less profound against lefty pitching, what he did in that situation was emblematic of his problems: Vazquez started him with a changeup that missed the zone, putting Albies in the driver’s seat with a 1-0 count. Albies then took a weak swing at a borderline changeup, not so much ambushing it as flailing at it, and hit a fielder’s choice with a 69 mph exit velocity. The Braves would lose the game when the next batter, <span>Dansby Swanson</span>, struck out. </p>
<p id="ALQu48">Albies finished 2018 with a top-20 swing rate on non-strikes in baseball among hitters qualified for the batting title (top 50 among hitters with 200+ PAs). In addition, his o-contact rate wasn’t high enough to buy him a lot of extra swings, but high enough that he made a lot of weak contact. Albies was one of only 48 players to put 100 balls not in the zone in play this year, and his xwOBA on them was .253, or ranked 38th out of 48. </p>
<p id="3P5DzN">But, all that aside, keep your eyes locked on Mr. Albies in 2019. He’s got something special.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/6/18057934/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-ozzie-albies-all-starSam Meredith2018-11-06T12:00:02-05:002018-11-06T12:00:02-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Nick Markakis
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<figcaption>Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>That’s “2018 All-Star and Gold Glove Award Winner” Nick Markakis, to you.</p> <p id="K3plCq">The 2018 <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Atlanta Braves</a> were chock full of surprises and the biggest surprise had to have been <span>Nick Markakis</span> breaking out and delivering what was by far his best season in a Braves uniform. Going into this season, the expectations for Markakis were rock bottom, as it was widely assumed that his time as a starting outfielder was coming to a close and his time as a Braves player would end with a whimper rather than any sort of excitement. </p>
<p id="0awi1x">Instead, Markakis reached back into his bag of tricks and proved that he still had a good amount left in the tank.</p>
<p id="bzWf0v"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018?</strong> He had his best season since the prime of his career back in the late ‘00s/early ‘10s. Markakis came out of the gates absolutely flying at the plate as he hit .323/.389/.488 with 133 wRC+ and 10 home runs up until the All-Star break. He ended up earning his first career All-Star Game appearance and he absolutely deserved it. For the first half of the season, that hilarious Chip Caray-ism of “Pick your poison: Freeman or Markakis” was actually true, as teams were actually having to think about either pitching around or walking Freeman in order to deal with Markakis. He was that good in the first half of the year and it was truly amazing to witness. </p>
<p id="jrxCz8">Then the All-Star break came and went and Markakis’ production fell off of a cliff. He ended up hitting .258/.332/.369 with just 88 wRC+ and four home runs once he returned from the All-Star game festivities. Basically, the second half version of Nick Markakis was what we expected to see for this entire season and the fact that he still managed to finish the year with 2.6 fWAR is actually impressive. </p>
<p id="MWT3Xq">Even with sub-par second half, he can still look back on 2018 with a lot of pride. According to fWAR this was a top-3 career year for him and he has the accolades of a All-Star game appearance and (shockingly enough) a Gold Glove as well. If that was the final season in a Braves uniform for Nick Markakis, then he’ll remember it very fondly. </p>
<p id="X5gqQ2"><strong>Will Markakis be on the roster next year? </strong>If he does come back, it’ll be on a one-year deal for significantly less money than what he was getting paid during his four-year deal with the Braves. I cannot imagine that Nick Markakis is in the Braves’ primary plans for 2019 and if he returns in the same role as 2018, it’ll probably be because the Braves were forced to revert to Plan B or Plan C because things went sideways during the offseason. It’s likely that he won’t be back, but I wouldn’t rule out a return.</p>
<p id="EsaALc"><strong>What is he going to do next year?</strong> He’ll definitely latch on somewhere, whether it’s Atlanta or with another team. Someone’s going to look at the season he had in 2018 and figure that it’ll be worth bringing him in. It’s likely that you’re going to see more of what he had to offer in the second half of 2018 but someone is going to be very happy if he can find a way to bring back his performance from the first half of 2018. </p>
<p id="swPBBq"><strong>Highlight of 2018: </strong>Way back on Opening Day, the Braves went into the eighth inning down 5-2. They proceeded to score six runs in the next two innings, including <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/markakis-walk-off-homer/c-1898870783?tid=155065792">a three-run walk-off dinger</a> from Markakis himself to win it. I was there and I still remember laughing hysterically at this because <em>Nick Markakis</em> was the one who did it. Little did I know what he had in store for us this season.</p>
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<p id="CggXau"><strong>Lowlight of 2018: </strong>Again, this season was a tale of two halves for Markakis and his second-half slide culminated in a September where he was just anemic at the plate. The final month of the season was not kind to Nick Markakis as he finished that month with just 83 wRC+, an Isolated Power number of just .040 and four extra-base hits all month -- all of them being doubles. Yikes.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/6/18065272/2018-atlanta-braves-player-reviews-nick-markakisDemetrius Bell2018-11-05T12:00:21-05:002018-11-05T12:00:21-05:002018 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Wes Parsons
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<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Yet another player who did not play much for the Braves in 2018, but has had an interesting road to the big leagues.</p> <p id="QDQOoC">As we wind down our player review series, we come to a pitcher who has not had an easy road to the majors but finally got a brief taste of it in Wes Parsons. Parsons may not have the ceiling of many of the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a>’ top pitching prospects and he may not pitch for the team ever again, but what he has been able to accomplish is nonetheless remarkable.</p>
<p id="fiXWfZ">Parsons was signed out as an undrafted free agent back in 2012 with the rumor being that a Braves official saw him pitch in a wood bat independent summer league of some kind and snatched him up. During the darker periods for the farm system, Parsons was actually a top 15 prospect in the Braves farm system with major league velocity and a bit of projectability given the lack of high level coaching he had received up until that point.</p>
<p id="fA9ZeQ">Unfortunately, after already beating the odds to become a pro in the first place, injuries started to give Parsons trouble. He only appeared in five games in 2014 and was used largely as a reliever in 2016 while dealing with injuries that season as well. 2017 saw him used a starter here and there as well. To be blunt, many had forgotten Parsons as a prospect until this year where he was used predominantly as a starter and posted a 2.76 ERA across two levels of the minors.</p>
<p id="6D3hwr">Parsons’ 2018 season is absolutely a success story as he got back on folks’ radars and he pitched incredibly well down in the minors. His performance earned him a spot on the Gwinnett shuttle as he was called up from Gwinnett four times during the 2018 season although most of the times it was as an emergency back-up situation if there was weather/doubleheader/injury concern. He did make one appearance with the team and went five innings while giving up four runs and six hits and three walks. Not a great major league debut, but considering the road that he had to take to get there...it is still remarkable that he made it.</p>
<p id="hW3HMH"><strong>Bottom line, what did he do in 2018?</strong> 2.76 ERA across two levels of the minor leagues (117.1 innings) with 104 strikeouts and 35 walks. He also made one appearance in the majors with a 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K line.</p>
<p id="rQ75rh"><strong>Will he be on the roster in 2019?</strong> This seems doubtful. Parsons has experience throwing out of the bullpen in the minor leagues, so him being a relief piece isn’t out of the question but the Braves may have access to better options both internally and on the various trade and free agent markets this offseason. As for in the rotation, I suppose crazier things have happened, but the Braves are loaded with starting pitching prospects that just very likely better than him. He has some pitchability and the results this year were good, but he seems to be destined for the minor leagues again or to try to find a spot with another organization.</p>
<p id="YUvKy3"><strong>What will he do in 2019?</strong> He will pitch for a team (although it may not end up being the Braves) in Spring Training with an outside chance at a roster spot. However, the smartest bet seems to be that he will start the season at Triple-A with a chance to prove that he can stick in major leagues.</p>
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https://www.batterypower.com/2018/11/5/18064076/2018-atlanta-braves-player-review-wes-parsonsEric Cole