2017 Season Preview: Atlanta Braves

Major Additions: Brandon Phillips, Jaime Garcia, Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Kurt Suzuki, John Danks

Major Losses: Mallex Smith, John Gant, Rob Whalen

Strengths: Depth, Youth

Weaknesses: Bullpen

Potential Breakout Stars: Dansby Swanson, Aaron Blair, Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Cabrera, Lucas Sims, A.J. Minter

The have plenty of talent in their minor leagues, and though they aren't quite ready to contend this year, they added a massive amount of veteran talent. The six names listed under "Major Additions" combine for 76 years of major league experience, so there will be no shortage of a veteran presence on this otherwise very young ball club. Freddie Freeman is of course the center piece of the offense, though nobody else is a sure thing. Matt Kemp was great last year (.268/.304/.499, 109 wRC+), but he's 32 and likely won't repeat. Ender Inciarte and Adonis Garcia are both average bats, though Inciarte is a defensive wiz. The most interesting part of the field to watch this year will be the middle infield, with Dansby Swanson and Brandon Phillips forming a very intriguing double play combination. Swanson, an Atlanta native, will look to establish himself as the next face of the franchise, while top prospect Ozzie Albies will be hard at work at AAA Gwinnett during the first part of the season. Albies hit .248/.307/.351 (89 wRC+) over 56 games at Gwinnett in 2016, and while that's not great, we should keep in mind that he was 19 years old, 7.7 years younger than the average player in the league (per The Baseball Cube). The Braves are looking to promote him at some point during the season, making him the most likely candidate to be the first player in major league history to be younger than me, having been born five days after me in 1997. The Swanson/Albies double play combination would combine to be just 43 years old, younger than Bartolo Colon when you account for years and days. The bench on this team looks very impressive considering their overall lack of contender status, with Kurt Suzuki, Chase d'Arnaud, Sean Rodriguez (when he returns from his shoulder injury), highly regarded prospect Rio Ruiz, and super-utility man Jace Peterson. On the mound, the rotation is a mixture of young and old, with Jaime Garcia (age 30) being the only one of the seven potential starters listed on their depth chart to be between the ages of 27 and 41. Julio Teheran (26) has been fairly inconsistent during his major league career, but when he's on, he's one of the better pitchers in baseball. Bartolo Colon (43) and R.A. Dickey (42) may both be old men, but both can still bring it. Colon, who made his MLB debut in 1997, the same year Albies and I were born, was 15-8 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP last season, while Dickey put up a respectable 4.46 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP. You never know what you'll get out of Garcia, who is often injured but who can (sometimes) be really good when he was on the mound. 2015 was a case in point for this, when he put up a 2.43 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP over 20 starts because of shoulder issues. He was healthy in 2016, but wasn't quite as good (4.67 ERA, 1.37 WHIP), so we'll have to see how he'll perform this year. A trio of young arms in Mike Foltynewicz (25), Matt Wisler (24), and Aaron Blair (24) should all get starts, especially after one or two of Colon, Dickey, and Garcia are traded in July. The bullpen is a little bit of a mess, led by 33 year old relief ace Jim Johnson, who can be good (3.06 ERA, 1.19 WHIP in 2016) or bad (7.09 ERA, 1.95 WHIP in 2014) depending on the year. Arodys Vizcaino racks up the strikeouts but struggles with consistency, as does Jose Ramirez. When it comes to lefties, Ian Krol pitched well last year, but injuries have kept Paco Rodriguez from making more than 20 appearances in any one season since his MLB career began in 2012, aside from his excellent 2013 (2.32 ERA, 0.90 WHIP). The most intriguing arm in this bullpen belongs to 23 year old Mauricio Cabrera, who put up a 2.82 ERA and and a 1.30 WHIP as a rookie last year. His plus plus fastball easily touches triple digits, and he hit 103 MPH on the gun nine times last year, including three times in one at bat against Cleveland's Jose Ramirez on June 29th. If he can learn to harness his stuff, there's no ceiling. The Braves won't contend this year, but it will be exciting watching Swanson and Cabrera, as well as potential call-ups Albies, Ruiz, Lucas Sims, and A.J. Minter.