Early Signs Atlanta Braves Will Win Its Division

The Atlanta Braves' sweep over the Washington Nationals over the weekend announced to the rest of baseball that the Braves are for real.

The series featured a thrilling comeback victory, a close, grind-it-out win and a dominating start that concluded in a blowout.

The starting rotation, bullpen and offense all had signature moments to signal that this is an all-around very good team.

It's early in the season, but the Braves have positioned themselves in a nice position out of the gates.

In fact, coming out of this series the Braves should now be considered the favorites in the National League East.

Here's a few signs that point to the Braves winning the division in 2013.

1. Bullpen

The biggest difference in my mind between the Braves and Nationals are the bullpens.

The early 2013 statistics suggest as much with the Braves leading in bullpen ERA at 1.30, while the Nationals rank 29th at 5.90.

In this series alone, the Braves worked 7.1 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and one walk. Meanwhile, the Nationals allowed six runs on 13 hits and 10 walks in 11 innings.

Friday night's game showed that gap in the bullpens. The Braves were down 4-0 early, but their deep bullpen kept them in the game while the offense chipped away and eventually fought all the way back.

Nationals closer Drew Storen blew the save after set-up man Tyler Clippard couldn't get out of the eighth inning.

Conversely, Craig Kimbrel and Eric O'Flaherty shut down the Nationals in this series as the depth of the Braves' bullpen proved superior.

The Braves' relief corps serves as the backbone of this team. They are rock solid to finish games and will prove to be the biggest difference between the Braves and the Nationals this season.

2. Justin Upton

Braves' fans should be extremely encouraged with the start to the 2013 season for Justin Upton.

The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .348 with a National League-leading seven home runs and 1.306 OPS. He also has a team-leading 11 RBI and .891 slugging percentage.

Upton looks to be in line for an MVP-caliber season, which makes me believe this lineup will flourish.

Having a guy like Upton in the middle of the order puts fear into opposing pitchers. He can change the game with one swing.

Upton has carried a big offensive load in the early going with Freddie Freeman out and Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton struggling.

A superstar talent in the middle of the order will prove valuable during big moments in close games.

3. Starting Rotation

Entering 2013, we knew the Braves had a talented but largely unproven rotation.

So far that talent is proving to be tough as they lead the National League with a 2.06 ERA.

Other than Julio Teheran, all the Braves' starters have an ERA below three, and Teheran should only get better as he adjusts to being a full-time starter.

Tim Hudson has shaken his early-inning troubles from a year ago and looks sharp in the early going.

Mike Minor has picked up where he left off to finish 2012 by going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in his first two starts.

Kris Medlen took the only loss of the season, but he still has a 1.50 ERA.

And all Paul Maholm has done is throw 20.1 innings of scoreless baseball to begin 2013.

Elite starting pitching has been the primary reason for the Braves' 11-1 start to the season, and it's showing it can be good enough to lead the team to a division title.

4. Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton Will Hit

The big story entering the season was the potential of the Braves' outfield, which featured the Upton brothers along with Jason Heyward.

So far, only a third of the outfield has produced to a high level.

B.J. and Heyward's combined batting averages (.103 and .163), home runs (two) and RBI (six) don't come close to even matching Justin in all three categories.

Yet, the Braves still find themselves sitting at 11-1.

The outfielders will eventually begin to hit. B.J. is coming off a 3-for-5 effort on Sunday while Heyward hit some rockets on Saturday with nothing to show for.

The fact that these two guys haven't come close to getting things going at the plate could be the scariest part of the equation for the rest of the National League.

5. Depth

Where would the Braves be without Evan Gattis and Ramiro Pena?

Both have played prominent roles in Atlanta's hot start.

Gattis is hitting .324 with four home runs and 10 RBI while taking over the starting catcher duties for the time being.

Pena has surprisingly come up with some clutch at-bats, most notably his game-winning home run in the 10th inning of Friday night's comeback victory. He has also proven valuable by playing third base at end of games and has received a few spot starts thanks to his elevated play.

Chris Johnson, Jordan Schafer and Reed Johnson provide manager Fredi Gonzalez great versatility and talent, giving the Braves the deepest roster its had in years.

Not to mention the bullpen and starting corps will be even stronger when Jonny Venters and Brandon Beachy return from their injuries.

Not only is this team talented, but it's also deep.

Over the course of 162 games, that will only help the Braves in their quest for the division title.