The Chicago Cubs showed why tearing down and rebuilding can greatly benefit a team if they draft well, and the prospects they obtain turn into stars. The Braves traded away some younger talent and acquired some in return. There will be some exciting stories in 2017
Story 1: Does Dansby Swanson win Rookie of the Year?
Can Dansby Swanson win this year’s NL Rookie of the Year award?
Swanson was the Number One overall pick on 2015 and was then included in a trade that sent Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks. Arguably, one of the worst trades in Arizona history, but it made trading Andrelton Simmons palatable for Braves fans. Swanson is arguably one of the better shortstop prospects in the game today and showed he’s got some game. With the majority of the other top candidates pitchers, Swanson has a good chance to show that an everyday player has more value than a pitcher. His scouting report lends itself to Derek Jeter comparisons, and if this is the case, he’ll make for quite the shortstop. 2017 may be a defining year for Swanson.
Story 2: Can Sean Newcomb make the rotation for the Braves this year?
Newcomb has shown flashes of brilliance in his short time with the Atlanta. He came to Atlanta as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade and has been in the Top 100 prospects for MLB.com for the last two years. With a fastball that tops out at 99 MPH and a plus curveball, Newcomb has many skills that make him an exciting prospect. Dealing with control issues each of the last two years, he’ll start at AAA for Atlanta, with the possibility to make the rotation if his control comes around.
Story 3: Can the Braves make the playoffs?
This one gets a bit tricky. For the Braves to make the playoffs this year, it will require a lot of hypothetical situations to occur: The starting rotation must hold up and perform well, beyond what reasonable expectations may be. Jaime Garcia, Bartolo Colon, and R.A. Dickey have all performed well in the past but would need near All-Star levels of performance throughout the year. That is rather unrealistic; however, they should perform better than the rotation last year.
Offensively, the Braves lineup should be better suited to score. Adding Sean Rodriquez will allow the Braves to keep a larger bullpen. In addition, his offensive numbers have been improving over the last couple of year, making him an attractive addition. If Freddie Freeman can continue his upward progress as a first baseman, Ender Inciarte finds his stride as a great player and outfielder, Dansby Swanson builds on his 2016, and the Braves can get some solid production from Matt Kemp, then it is possible that they could be in the hunt for the playoffs.
