MLB Predictions: 3 Up and 3 Down for the Atlanta Braves in 2012

Spring Training always signals the start of a new season. For the Atlanta Braves, it is hopefully signaling the end of another.

Questions about last September’s heartbreaking finish still find their way into most player interviews.

To help push 2011 out the door and move closer towards Opening Day, let’s look at three players that will be trending up and three players that will be regressing down during the 2012 season.

3 UP - Jason Heyward

After a rookie season that had Jason Heyward flashing the potential of a superstar-in-the-making, last year was a slap of big league reality.

Adjustments needed to be made by Heyward to counteract how pitchers were attacking him at the plate.

Those adjustments were never made, and he ultimately found himself on the bench replaced by unknown minor-leaguer Jose Constanza.

Becoming pull-conscience for most of the season, he would just roll the outside pitch over, hitting weak ground balls to the right side of the infield.

He also struggled as pitchers continually pounded him inside; there wasn’t much that went right in 2011, which also included a nagging shoulder injury.

Heyward has spent the entire offseason working on his swing in hopes of taking a more direct path to the ball.

Early indications in spring camp have players and coaches alike raving that the ball is jumping off Heyward’s bat like it did in 2010.

Look for Heyward to have a mini-breakout season and eventually taking over the three-hole in the lineup from Chipper Jones.

Prediction: Heyward bats .280-plus with 25-28 home runs

3 UP: Brandon Beachy

Prior to last season, it was believed by most that Brandon Beachy didn’t have the stuff to be a top-notch starter in the big leagues.

He went back to the slider he used as a college pitcher, and it quickly became his second best pitch, as he came to rely on it 19.1 percent of the time.

Beachy used that fastball and slider mix to lead all pitchers with at least 140 innings in K/9 (10.74).

Another good sign Beachy could be ready to take that next step was his ability to command and control his pitches.

He maintained an above-average BB/9 of 2.92, which was in line with his minor league BB/9 of 2.15.

He is going into spring training looking to be more efficient with his pitches so he can go deeper into games, as he only reached the seventh inning twice in 25 starts last year.

It is very possible Beachy ends the season as the Braves' most reliable pitcher, occasionally showing his naysayers that he has ace potential in the future.

Prediction: Beachy wins 15-18 games while logging 200-plus innings.

3 UP: Dan Uggla

Maybe it was the pressure of signing a five-year, $62 million extension, or the unfamiliarity of being in a different clubhouse. Regardless of the answer, Dan Uggla found himself on both ends of the spectrum before last season was over.

All baseball fans are aware of his disastrous start and the hitting-streak-filled finish.

A hot and cold season led him to career lows in RBI (82) and batting average (.233), but he hit a career high 36 home runs, which capped off his fifth-consecutive 30-homer season.

A year later, Uggla likely feels more at ease around his teammates with less pressure to prove his worth to the club.

A more comfortable and confident Uggla should lead to a more consistent season overall.

Minus the large dips in production, look for him to put together the best season of his career and entrench himself in the heart of the Braves lineup.

Prediction: Uggla pushes his 30-plus home run streak to six years in a row and reaches 100-plus RBI for only the second time.

3 Down: Martin Prado

Transitioning to another position probably didn’t help Martin Prado’s chances of repeating his 2010 performance, but it was most likely injuries that caused the regression he saw.

What position he plays is obviously out of his control, but Prado makes the “down” portion of this list mainly because he can’t provide the production expected from a corner outfielder.

To get peak performance from Prado’s skill set, the Braves would be better suited playing him in a super-utility role.

Prediction: Prado sheds the injury bug, but continues to struggle at the plate. That eventually forces the Braves' hand in trading for a left-fielder, a trade in which Prado might have to be part of the package.

3 Down: Tyler Pastornicky

It goes without saying that most rookies will struggle in their first big-league season, and Tyler Pastornicky will be no different in that area.

Atlanta’s front office is guided by a hard cap placed on them by team ownership, so it’s understandable why the Braves would give a kid that has only played 27 games in Triple-A a shot at being the everyday shortstop.

Pastornicky will be a solid defender for the Braves, just not the Gold-Glove caliber Alex Gonzalez was during his time in Atlanta.

Even though Gonzalez didn’t provide much with the bat, there should still be an expectation of a slight downgrade offensively.

Prediction: Pastornicky hits in the .240-.250 range with little power (five HR), but steals 20-25 bases.

3 Down: Jair Jurrjens

Jair Jurrjens has always pitched better than his peripheral numbers would indicate.

Along with a K/9 that declined to a pedestrian 5.33 in 2011, injuries have limited him to 20 and 23 starts in the past two seasons, respectively.

There also have to be some concerns with how Jurrjens performs after the whirlwind of trade rumors that surrounded him this offseason.

It’s unlikely those rumors will go away during the upcoming season, especially if the offensive struggles from 2011 roll over into 2012, or the young arms of Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado continue to impress.

Prediction: Jurrjens gives a solid enough performance pre-All-Star break to enable the Braves to include him in a trade if necessary.

Traded or not, he manages to post 12-14 wins, but is unable to repeat his 2011 first-half numbers.

Jim Pratt is a Featured Columnist covering the Atlanta Braves for Bleacher Report, MLB contributor for MLBDepthCharts and BravesWire. Follow Jim on Twitter, @2OutSacBunt