The Traders Arena Blog

Last year was an awful year for the Braves, they finished 72-90 in the NL East last year. They were already out of the playoffs pretty much by the middle of the year. The Braves made a splash by trading Mark Texeira, landing back Casey Kotchman to play first base. They knew they would not be able to sign him so they dealt him to get something back for him. Kotchman is MLB ready and looks to be a nice 1B in the future, with a good bat and glove. The Braves still do have some of the high profile stars on their team such as Brian McCann and Chipper Jones, mixed in with the young future stars in Jeff Francoeur, Yunel Escober, and Jair Jurrgens. The Braves made a splash this offseason making a deal for Javier Vasquez. To get him though, they gave up a ton in value. They traded prospects Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, and Brent Lillbridge, who were all highly touted prospects. I think they gave up way too much to get Vasquez who has not had a great season since his Expos days. Ever since then he has been overrated and pitched average to slightly above average. He will step in as their ace of a very young, inexperienced staff this year.

Here is their projected position players this year:

C: Brian McCann: No doubt about it, one of the best catchers in the league. Not too much to say about him, he will continue to be on the top of the league and should be an All Star this year.

1B: Casey Kotchman: As stated before, a young player with a good bat and good glove. Last year he hit 14 HRs and 74 RBI, average for a 1B, but he is young and should improve this year as he beomces more familiar with the National League pitching.

2B: Kelly Johnson: Johnson has been a highly coveted player in possible trade talks for the past year. Nothing has materialized, but many teams have inquired about them. He hit .287 last year, and hit 12 HRs and had 69 RBI with 11 SB.  I would expect the same year from him as he didn’t progress stat wise last year from his 2007 campaign.

SS: Yunel Escobar: Yunel had a good year last year for his first full MLB season. He hit .288 with 10 HR with 60 RBI. He was a highly touted prospect so I expect his numbers to rise next year.

3B: Chipper Jones: One of the best 3B in the league, last year Chipper had an amazing first half, nearly hitting .400 for the entire half. He ended the season hitting .364 with 22 HR and 75 RBI. He did get injured or else he would have had an extra 30 games. If he can stay healthy he should have another Chipper season, maybe not hitting .364, but oer .320 with almost 30 HR and 90 RBI wouldn’t be out of the question.

OF: Jeff Francoeur, Matt Diaz, Josh Anderson: Not exactly the trio they are enamored by. After losing Andruw Jones, who held down CF for over 10 years, it has gone downhill. Jeff Francoeur was supposed to break out last year, but all he did was disappoint. Diaz and Anderson are nothing special and can’t be thought of as everyday starters until either of them proves they should be. I would think they would try to make a trade for an OF. They tried to get Nick Swisher from the White Sox before the Yankees got him, so maybe the Yankees will try to deal him if they do not trade Matsui.

Here is their projected rotation for this year:

SP: Javier Vasquez, Jair Jurrgens, Jorge Campillo, JoJo Reyes, Charlie Morton:  This is not exactly the best staff in the world. Vasquez is their new ace, but after that, there is not a bonafide #2 starter. Jurrgens might become one after having a good rookie year, but the next batch of guys, there is a huge dropoff. This staff will have problems getting into the 6th and 7th inning, meaning the bullpen will be worked a bunch this year.

CL: Mike Gonzalez: Mike Gonzalez had a great season in Pittsburgh before he came over to the Braves and then had injury problems. He is very reliable and should be a nice option for them. The rest of their bullpen though, is less to be desired, except for maybe Rafael Soriano and Manny Acosta.

My expectation for the team: I think they will continue to be dismal at best. With the Phillies on a high from the World Series, and the Mets adding to their bullpen, I don’t see the Braves being able to compete. They will probably finish in 4th again as the Marlins always seem to be around .500 and mess up some standings. I think if they eclipsed .500 this year that would be a good year for them.

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