Jason Heyward hopes to return to his rookie of the year form in 2012. Photo: Cliff Welch/Icon SMI
The series on team offense continues with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta finished twenty second in the majors and tenth in the National League in offense last season, scoring 3.96 runs per game.
The CBSSportsline probable batting order is the one manager Fredi Gonzalez is likely to write up this season. The OBP and slugging percentage used come from the Marcel the Monkey forecast system. The pitching numbers are the actual results for Braves hurlers in 2011. Plugging those numbers in the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) produces the following results:
- Best lineup: 4.55 runs per game
- Probable lineup: 4.30 runs per game
- Worst lineup: 3.99 runs per game
- Regressed lineup: 4.06 runs per game
While Jason Heyward is the only one of the eight position players projected to own an outstanding OBP in 2012, none of the eight projects to be poor in this area. Getting on base is half the battle, and if the Braves come close to these numbers they should see a boost in score in 2012.
That said, if the projections bear out this lineup seems upside down. The LAT likes Jason Heyward leading off, and often likes Freddie Freeman at the top of the order as well. At the moment, they are buried at six and seven in the order. I understand that the Braves would like to see if Heyward truly recovered from his 2011 injuries before they move him higher. I hope that doesn’t take too long.
Heyward, along with the youngsters Freeman and Tyler Pastornicky, offer Atlanta some upside. So does Dan Uggla, coming off a sub-par season. Atlanta should score more in 2012 than in 2011, and if the youngsters work out, expect them to shift into more appropriate spots in the lineup.
You can see the results of all the teams on this Google spreadsheet as the series progresses.
Previous articles in this series:
- Explanation
- Boston Red Sox
- New York Yankees
- Texas Rangers
- Detroit Tigers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Colorado Rockies
- Cincinnati Reds
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Kansas City Royals
- Milwaukee Brewers
- New York Mets
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Baltimore Orioles
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Cleveland Indians
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Chicago White Sox
- Chicago Cubs
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Oakland Athletics
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Wish Uggla were back with the Marlins. Marlims seem to ne the farm team for other teams.
Benjamin Raucher