Spring Training Standouts: Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman Is Home Run Hot

The Atlanta Braves hoped to get a slugging outfielder for the middle of their lineup this season. But first baseman Freddie Freeman looks like he plans to supply all the home run power himself.

Last year's runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year has been slamming the ball in Grapefruit League play this week. Freeman's seventh-inning home run off the New York Yankees' Hiroki Kuroda on Wednesday afternoon was his fifth in the Braves' past three games.

Slicing it even thinner, Freeman has hit five home runs in his last eight at-bats. (Should we call him "Fab Five Freddie"? No? OK, I won't suggest it again.) He has six homers overall this spring.

What makes Freeman's power surge even more impressive is that he's cranking these home runs without pulling the ball.

“Oh, he’s good,” Braves hitting coach Greg Walker told the Atlanta Journal Constitution's David O'Brien. “He hasn’t learned to pull the ball yet, but when he does, he’s got it there too, believe me. The mechanics of his swing should allow him to pull the ball, he just hasn’t figured out that he can do it yet.

"But right now we’ll take an oppo [opposite field] home run anytime. Center field, oppo … He’s a monster. He really is. He’s a mechanically correct big guy.”

Of course, spring training success doesn't always translate to the regular season. But the Braves have to be encouraged that Freeman appears to be improving on his 2011 performance.

Batting mostly in the fifth and sixth spots of Atlanta's batting order last year, Freeman hit .282/.346/.448 with 21 homers and 76 RBI.