Skip to main content
Global Edition
Thursday, March 28, 2024

BS Report: March 4th

Credit: WMGT
Duration: 0 shares 1 views

BS Report: March 4th
BS Report: March 4th

Opening day is on its way and the Braves have some decisions to make.

Will this team be able to live up to the stellar 2019 season?

Bill Shanks breaks it down this week.

The Braves are now about three weeks from opening day.

There are some concerns, like the health of Freddie Freeman and whether he will have issues with his elbow throughout the season.

But for the most part the questions they have are good ones – like who will play third base, how the team will fill the third outfield spot and who will round out the rotation.

These are all what you would say “good” problems to have, however, as there are options.

Both Austin Riley and Johan Camargo are off to great starts at the plate for spring training.

The thought coming into spring was that Camargo was the favorite, with Riley perhaps needing more time in Triple-A.

But Riley has come to camp on a mission.

He’s hitting the ball really well, and the lure of having a power bat like Riley’s in the lineup is tempting.

They need another power hitter behind Marcell Ozuna, and Riley showed last year when he first came up what he can do in hitting home runs.

But Camargo never deserved to lose the job he had in 2018 in the first place, and he is also making a case to get his spot at third base back.

As for the outfield, manager Brian Snitker must decide what to do in the outfield.

We know Ronald Acuna and Ozuna will fill two of the spots every day, but will he go with Ender Inciarte in center field and put Acuna in right field?

Or will he have a platoon in right with Nick Markakis and Adam Duvall, with Acuna playing center field?

Lineup construction may come into play here, and it’s tied to who wins the third base job.

As for the rotation, with Cole Hamels out perhaps until late-May or June, it looks like Sean Newcomb and Felix Hernandez have the edge for the last two spots.

But don’t count Kyle Wright out at all.

He has been one of the players talked about a lot in camp.

Wright made a change to his delivery, bringing his left leg back just a tad, and his command has been great so far this spring.

Wright is 24, so it’s time for him to take that next step.

--- Is this a team that looks like a slam-dunk repeat of last year’s team, which won 97 regular season games?

Well, maybe not yet, as we must see how Ozuna replaces Josh Donaldson, and we must see what production they get from third base and the third outfield spot.

But we know this bullpen is drastically improved from last season – both when the season started last March and when it ended in October.

This is the first time in years we’ve not had many issues with the Braves bullpen going into the season.

So, if things fall into place, and if this team stays healthy, yes, it has the potential to be just as good as it was last year.

But as we all know, it’s a long way to October – and that’s what will define the Braves 2020 season – not what happens March through September, but for a team that hasn’t won a playoff series in 19 years, it will all be about October.

And to get to that point, the Braves are off to a great start in spring training.

You might like

Related news coverage

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Southern Lebanon

Hezbollah militants in Lebanon launched rockets Wednesday at northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes that killed..

Eurasia Review

Advertisement