The Braves' Heyward and Freeman: "Bash Brothers Minus the Steroids"

Isn't it amazing that, despite the incredible potential and monster bats of both players, Getty Images has yet to put a snapshot of either Freddie Freeman or Jason "the Man-Child" Heyward in their collection ?

So, instead of using either one of these young studs in this article's picture, I settled on Manny Acosta's jersey.

Anyway, I'm not going to let that irk me. I am still going to write about the middle of the Braves lineup of the future.

Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward promise to be powerful forces. I used the term "Bash Brothers Minus the Steroids" because I can see these two putting up numbers that, adjusted to the times, could match what Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco did for the A's in the 80's.

Imagine the three- through six-holes for the Braves in a couple of years: Yunel Escobar, Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, and Freddie Freeman.

Yes, they are left handed, and yes, that would make the lineup somewhat vulnerable to lefty pitching, but if they can learn to hit lefties as well as our current players, then that shouldn't really matter.

But anyway, let's not get too caught up in what the lineup might be; let's get caught up on what these two might become.

I will, as in the last article, provide the player's stats from last year as well as the stats that I could see them ultimately putting up.

The line will be AVG/HR/RBI/SB, so here we go.

Frederick Freeman

Freddie Freeman is a left-handed hitting first baseman who, in 130 games last season in Class A ball, put up a line of .316/18/95/5 with a 23:42 BB:K ratio.

His stats were pretty impressive at his level, where the competition isn't exactly stellar, but I don't think that should necessarily diminish his stats once he gets to the bigs. 

I haven't really heard any comparisons to current or former MLB players, and I really can't think of any other than (please forgive me for mentioning his name yet again) Mark McGwire. He's abig, strong first baseman with a lot of power and average defense.

That being said, I don't expect Freddie (unless he starts juicing up) to set any HR records, but a line of .295/31/112/4 shouldn't be out of his reach if his development continues its trend.

Jason Heyward

Comparisons to Willie McCovey and Cliff Floyd are pretty high expectations (the former moreso than the latter), but this big, strong Georgia native may just have the tools to fulfill these lofty dreams.

He has a great eye (as evidenced by a 49:74 BB:K ratio) and could develop epic power.

In 127 games between Classes A and A+ last year, this lefty's line was .323/11/56/15.

He played only seven games in High-A, so those stats were a bit skewed, and batting in the same lineup as Freeman was rough on his RBI total.

Are these numbers as impressive as Freeman's? No. But Jason's ceiling is higher, by all accounts, than Freeman's (after all, Heyward was the No. 5 prospect according to Baseball America, behind Matt Weiters, David Price, Colby Rasmus and Tommy Hanson, although some had him as high as No. 2 or 3).

Look for Heyward to be a hitter that puts up numbers like .302/29/100/20.

Put simply, guy's a monster.

Oh, did I mention that both of these guys are only 19 years old?

These two should become the heart of the next-generation Braves lineup, and should strike fear into the hearts of Mets, Phillies, and Marlins fans for years to come.

In my next article on Braves prospects, I'll be talking about Brandon Hicks, a shortstop that may move to third and become Chipper's replacement, and Kris Medlen, a very promising RHP.

Share with me what you think, and I will respond. Thanks for reading!