2009 Atlanta Braves Predictions

Written by Jason Lowry

Braves Baseball After dominating the NL East year after year, the Braves had their first 90 loss season since 1990 in 2008, as they went 72-90 and wound up 4th in their division. A big reason for the slump last year was the Braves pitching staff, who suffered through injuries. Part of those injuries will be felt this season, as Tim Hudson will be out the entire year. There is still hope in the Braves clubhouse that they can compete in a division with the Mets, Phillies, and Marlins, but a lot of that will depend on some new faces and a few key bounce back seasons. The Braves added some punch to their starting rotation with the additions of Dereck Lowe and Javier Vasquez, but that help was needed after John Smoltz and Mike Hampton signed elsewhere. The Braves were close to landing Ken Griffey Jr, but he decided to go back to the Mariners where he started his career. Here is a closer look at what we think you can expect from the 2009 Atlanta Braves.

Offense:

There are a lot of questions that surround the Braves offense this season, as so much depends on the health of 3B Chipper Jones. He flirted with hitting .400 last year, but wound up at .364, which was still good enough for the batting title. He only played 128 games last season, and if that number drops in 2009 the Braves offense is likely going to struggle. They do have some young bats that can get things going, as 1B Casey Kotchman showed a lot of promise after coming over from the Angels, and 2B Kelly Johnson is a great spark plug at the top of the order. A big key for this offense is getting RF Jeff Francoeur back to the form of his 2007 season, and far way from his 2008 performance where he hit just .239 with 11 home runs. The Braves also have one of the best hitting catchers in the game in Brian McCann, and his power is needed in this lineup with so few home run hitters. So the pieces are there, and with Bobby Cox and company in charge you can’t ever count these guys out.

Pitching:

While the names might not be the same, this Braves pitching staff has a ton of potential, as both Lowe and Vasquez have proven they can still win. Lowe won 14 games with the Dodgers last season, and Vasquez won 12 with the White Sox. The Braves also went out and signed Kenshin Kawakami from Japan, and are hoping he can jump right into the starting rotation. The final two spots will be held down by Jair Jurrjens and Jorge Campillo. Jurrjens was outstanding in his rookie season last year going 13-10, and drew comparison to long time Brave Greg Maddux. Campillo will be a solid No.5 starter who went 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in just 25 starts. The bullpen is headlined by closer Mike Gonzalez, who converted 14 of 16 save opportunities in 2008. There is a big question mark around the role of Rafael Soriano, who has the stuff to be a closer in this league, but has been slowed down by injuries. If he is able to be any part of the late inning mix for this team, it is a huge boost to their overall bullpen. Look for Manny Acosta to be sure late inning worker, who could pitch the 7th or 8th depending on what they get out of Soriano. If the Braves are going to avoid missing the playoffs for the third straight season, it’s going to be because the pitching staff is much better than anyone expects.

Prediction: 3rd in NL East

While we have them finishing 3rd in the division, we don’t feel they will be anywhere near the Mets or Phillies, as we think both those teams are headed to the postseason. A lot has to go the Braves’ way for them to finish 3rd, but we feel like they can edge out the Marlins who will be tough again in 2009.

Archived Season Previews:

2010
2008

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