The 2023 series on team offense continues with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves finished third in the majors and second in the National League in 2022 with 4.87 runs scored per game.
This season I am using FanGraphs Roster Resource Depth Charts* as the source of default lineups. That Brian Snitker batting order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):
- Best lineup: 5.23
- Probable lineup: 5.18
- Worst lineup: 4.94
- Regressed lineup: 4.72
The Braves built an impressive offense. The lineup feature well rounded players at most positions, coupled with those players performing in their prime years or younger. Atlanta fans can expect a top run scoring team for the next few seasons.
The Braves also represent another team moving toward the LAT notion of constructing a line-up. Note that the fourteenth best lineup agrees with the LAT at slots five through nine and one. The big difference might be the projection of Sean Murphy‘s power. FansGraphs puts him at .444 on the depth chart, while Musings Marcels pegs him at .416. The park effect of moving from Oakland to Atlanta gets factored in for Murphy in most of the other projections.
There is plenty of upside, as Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom are both very young with the Marcels regressing their short careers to the mean a great deal. You might want to consider their projections a floor.
The Braves front office returned to their style of the 1990s. They allow free agents to walk, and replace them with younger or better players through trades and the farm system. This resulted in another dominant era for the team.
You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.
Previous posts in this series:
*This is the best version of this information I’ve seen, with everything you might want to know on one page.