Braves Progress Summary: 40 Game Edition

As we prepare for a long holiday weekend that could turn out to be very profitable or devastatingly terrible for Atlanta’s sports scene, let us all hope that the Hawks shoot better than 4 of 23 from three-point range. Let us pray that DeMarre Carroll is able to return from injury sooner rather than later. Let us hold out hope that come tomorrow morning, Kyle Korver will be featured on ESPN rather than the back of a milk carton. Most of all, let us wish with all our heart that the referees would call the game consistently and fairly. I know, who am I kidding, right?

But enough about that. I’m here today to remind everyone that in addition to the Hawks, we have another team playing tonight. A team that may not feature too many names and faces you know, but has quietly hung in there so far. That’s right, the Braves, left for dead by most everyone in the wake of trademaggeddon 2015, have been better than expected.

Not that they are in first place or anything. After winning on Thursday night, partly due to Milwaukee pitcher Will Smith doing his best Eddie Harris impression, the Braves currently sport a record of 20-20, and are just 3.5 games out of first place. Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, time for a quick check in on what has gone right and wrong so far.

Heading into the season, we all assumed that starting pitching would be the strength of this team. That’s all we talked about during spring training! Returning starters Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Mike Minor were supposed to keep the games close enough to give an offense full of unknowns a chance. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Teheran (4-1, 3.91 ERA) and Wood (2-2, 3.83 ERA) have been good at times, but have struggled with consistency. As far as Minor goes, his season ended before he ever threw his first regular season pitch.

The leader of the staff has easily been Shelby Miller. Acquired in the Jason Heyward trade, over which there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the faithful, he has been absolutely outstanding. Through eight starts he is 5-1 with a miniscule 1.33 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Oh yeah, he almost pitched a no hitter too.

The rest of the rotation has been a complete disaster. Trevor Cahill, Mike Foltynewicz, and Eric Stults are a combined 3-8, and are the less than proud owners of ERAs of 6.97, 5.32, and 5.36, respectively. It’s gotten so bad that the last time through the rotation the Braves turned to the man with two last names, Williams Perez. The righthander did well in his first start, pitching 5 innings and allowing just one run vs Tampa Bay.

The bullpen has been surprisingly strong so far. Veteran closer Jason Grilli has converted 12 of 13 save opportunities, though he won’t make anyone forget the great Craig Kimbrel. How I’d love to hear “Welcome to the Jungle” right about now! New members Brandon Cunniff and Jim Johnson have been good in set up roles, and holdover Luis Avilan remains the team’s best lefty option out of the bullpen.

The defense has been very good as well. Everyone knows how good Andrelton Simmons is, so I won’t spend much time on him except to say that he is one of the few players who can make a game thrilling to watch all by himself. Christian Bethancourt has thrown out 3 of 6 attempted baserunners. Overall the Braves have committed just 21 errors as a team.

Now, about that previously mentioned offense; the one that was going to struggle mightily to score runs this season. The Braves lineup, which you often need a program to sort out, put up seven runs in one inning last night. They’ve put up five or more in an inning several times this season, and have been way better than anyone thought they would be.

And it isn’t just that they’re scoring runs, it’s how they’re doing it. Through 40 games, no one has hit more than six homeruns. The most recent batting order has combined to hit just 17. That’s right folks, the Braves are playing small ball! Instead of waiting around for someone to hit a three run homer (which is kind of hard to do when no one is on base, as we found out last year) they are getting base hits, moving runners over, and coming through in the clutch.

Freddie Freeman has been his usual self, batting .306 with 5 homeruns and 21 RBI. Markakis has been nearly as good, hitting .302, often from the leadoff spot. While no one else’s numbers jump off the page at you, it has been fun watching some of the other guys too. Jace Peterson looks like a player with a solid career in front of him. Kelly Johnson has been a nice surprise, hittting 6 homeruns and driving in 18 runs, though he is currently out with an injury. Cameron Maybin, though never an all star caliber hitter, is still way better than what we had in centerfield last year, or what we began with this year.

So where are the Braves at the one quarter mark? Exactly where I thought they would be. I’ve thought all along that they would be around a .500 team, though the ups and downs have come from different sources than I’d planned on. Hopefully, if nothing else, they can hang around long enough to get us through the summer. If they could do that, you certainly wouldn’t hear me complaining. Well, not too much anyway.

As always, keep the faith Atlanta.

Go Hawks! And Braves too!