Atlanta Braves: A Look at Michael Bourn's Career Up to Now

With new Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Bourn set to debut for the team in roughly one hour, I thought a quick glance at Bourn's career numbers was in order to show just how much the Braves' lineup has improved since acquiring him on July 31.

Although center fielder Jordan Schafer will be missed by most familiar with the organization, the fact that the Braves have once again acquired a true leadoff hitter, their first since Rafael Furcal in 2005, is exciting for a team fighting the injury bug and in need of speed on the base paths.

That being said, here is a quick glance at Bourn's career up to now.

His Path to Atlanta

Bourn first appeared in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006, a year in which he went 1-for-8 with the club. He played in Philadelphia for one more season, in which he posted a .277 average and stole 18 bases, before being traded to the Houston Astros during the offseason.

Bourn flourished into the major leaguer we all know during his time in Houston, during which he hit better than .250 all but once and stole more than 40 bases each season that he wore an Astros uniform. Bourn was halfway through his fourth year with the ballclub before being traded to Atlanta for Jordan Schafer and three minor leaguers.

Although Bourn only has 12 career home runs to his name, he is a threat once he reaches base. He has a career on-base percentage of .338 and has recorded 212 stolen bases since his debut in the majors in 2006.

A Two-Time Gold Glove Award Winner

Michael Bourn has a .991 career fielding percentage and has won a Gold Glove in each of the past two seasons. This year, he's already recorded 256 putouts and three outfield assists with only two errors.

Bourn's numbers are only going to get better now that he has been acquired by the Braves, as Turner Field does not have a 90-foot wide center-field incline like Minute Made Park does. Not having to navigate around Tal's Hill be an advantage for Bourn, whose speed will be a major factor in the outfield.

Speed

I won't harp on Bourn's speed for long, as it has been well documented since his acquisition early Sunday, but will provide some numbers that not everyone may be aware of.

Bourn leads the National League in steals this season with 39, just three shy of the 42 that the entire 2011 Braves team have notched all year. And of those 42 the Braves have swiped, the recently departed Jordan Schafer had 15 of them.

As previously noted, Bourn has stolen 212 career bases, which is more than the career totals of Chipper Jones (149), Jason Heyward (16), Brian McCann (20) and Dan Uggla (20) combined.

2011: A Career Year

At the time that the Braves acquired him, Bourn was batting .303 with one home run and 32 RBI in 105 games with the Astros this season. He also had career highs in many statistical categories, including his on-base percentage (.363), slugging percentage (.403) and on-base plus slugging (.766).

Bourn has struck out 90 times in 429 at-bats this year, and he has walked 38 times.

If he can continue to reach base, watch for the pressure to come off of the Braves' lineup and their bats start to come around.