Beasts of the East: Braves Streaking, but Still Have Questions

Lots of Baseball Left but Braves Are In the Right Position

At the beginning of the season there were many of questions surrounding the Atlanta Braves. After a rocky start and a red hot month of May, many of those questions have been answered.

Is Jason Heyward as good as advertised?

The answer here is a resounding yes. It was apparent in spring training that Heyward had all the physical tools of a future all-star. What wasn’t clear was whether or not Heyward possessed the mental fortitude to make a sizeable impact. He is currently hitting .274 with 38 RBIs and 10 home runs. The real stat to watch though is his 43 strikeouts to 34 walks. This indicates that Heyward has great discipline for a 20 year old hitter. By comparison, Ken Griffey Jr. had 44 walks to 83 strikeouts his rookie season. Barring injury, Heyward should win the NL Rookie of the Year award regardless of how well Strasburg performs in the coming months.

How well would Troy Glaus perform?

The Braves signed Troy Glaus as a one year stopgap before young gun Freddie Freeman is ready for the big leagues. Glaus was coming off of shoulder surgery and not many were sure if he could put up the type of power numbers that he had while a member of the Southland Angels. Well, all the naysayers (98% of baseball fans) were wrong. Glaus started out slow but was the NL Player of the Month in May and now leads the league in RBIs. He has also hit 11 home runs to quench the Braves longstanding thirst for a power hitter. If Glaus can keep up these kinds of numbers he is in strong contention for National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Will Tim Hudson get back to form in his first full season since Tommy John surgery?

Hudson is pitching the way he did when he played in Oakland. He is currently 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA. This is from a guy many thought would be a serviceable fourth starter this year. Having Hudson at the top of the rotation has helped lessen the loss of Jair Jurrjens and given the Braves a true number one starter. He has also been swinging a good bat (he’s hitting .286).

Who will step up in left field?

After sluggish performances from Matt Diaz and Melky Cabrera the Braves found their man in veteran Eric Hinske. Hinske was signed in the offseason to provide a spark off the bench. After doing so for around a month, Bobby Cox made him a full time starter. Hinske has continued to deliver and is currently hitting .323 with 22 RBIs in only 93 at bats.

Although the aforementioned questions have been answered a new set of inquires has arisen. For how well the Braves have been playing of late there are still glaring deficiencies in this team.

Will Yunel Escobar begin to play back to form?

Escobar has been coming on of late and is hitting .545 so far this month. His overall average has climbed to .245 after hitting around .205 for the first two months of the season. If he can continue this it will only allow for more protection in the lineup for McCann and Glaus.

Will Chipper stay healthy?

Over the past several seasons the Braves have been hindered by the fact that their former star player just can’t keep from being plagued by injuries. Jones has been more of a liability in the three spot than he has been a force. Bobby Cox has always been loyal to his players (one of the reasons guys love to play for him) but it might be time to move Chipper down in the order or perhaps to the #2 spot with Heyward moving to the third.

What to do when Jair Jurrjens comes back?

Assuming that Jair Jurrjens can come back healthy and pitches the way he has for the past two seasons, the Braves will once again face the problem of having too many starting pitchers. Kawakami hasn’t been great (a lot of that has to do with getting zero run support) but Kris Medlen has been excellent filling in for the injured Jurrjens. Medlen has yet to give up more than 3 runs an outing in his four starts this year. His ERA on the season is 2.45. Cox will be faced with the tough decision of determining who moves to the bullpen and who stays in the rotation. Unfortunately, Medlen may be more valuable in the bullpen with Saito going on the DL this week.

Overall the Braves have been on a tear in the month of May, overcoming a difficult schedule and playing at the level that they are capable of playing. This team has the advantage of having tremendous pitching depth which will keep them in the hunt until the last day of the season. If they can continue to hit the way they have, they will have no problem contending for the division. It is important to note however that the Phillies will not stay cold forever and that the Braves must continue to gain a sizeable division lead for when the Phillies’ bats do come around. However there are many reasons to be optimistic at this point in the season for Atlanta fans. First place is a nice place to be and few saw the Braves ever getting there.

-JHM (Guest)