Call to the pen
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Atlanta Braves’ rebuild gets more unpleasant each day

By Jordan Wevers

Apr 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) reacts after striking out to end the seventh inning of their game against the New York Mets at Turner Field. The Mets won 8-2. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) reacts after striking out to end the seventh inning of their game against the New York Mets at Turner Field. The Mets won 8-2. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Baseball’s last team to lose 100 games was the 2003 Detroit Tigers, that went 43-119. While the Atlanta Braves’ situation isn’t as dire yet, they have to be MLB’s best candidate to lose 100 times in 2016.

If it weren’t for the prospect of getting to visit a brand new, state of the art $622 million ballpark in 2017, Atlanta Braves fans might well be ready to drop their season tickets and spend income on the NFL’s Falcons or the NBA’s Hawks. SunTrust Park will be sure to appeal to fans through gimmicky technological features, new concession menu items and other tantalizing draws that go hand-in-hand with visiting a ballpark. All of this is necessary, because for the foreseeable future, the Braves are going to be awful.

Even the Minnesota Twins (5-14) — who began the season 0-9 — have more wins currently than the 4-14 Braves. Atlanta has one win in front of a home crowd in 2016 and has treated its fans to three home runs all season so far. They all came at Turner Field, as the club is yet to see anyone hit a round tripper on the road so far this year.

Three home runs in 18 games, folks… that is, in one word — unbelievable. There are 50 individual players with four or more home runs so far this season. There are three National League pitchers who have hit home runs in April, which is just as many as Freddie Freeman, Adonis Garcia and Drew Stubbs each have for the Braves.

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Game Recap: Consistent Hitting and Timely Pitching Gives the Braves their Fourth Consecutive Win
Game Recap: Consistent Hitting and Timely Pitching Gives the Braves their Fourth Consecutive Win /

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    • Atlanta’s most productive player to date in 2016 has easily been Nick Markakis. The veteran right fielder has only 144 career home runs and has distanced himself from being a power hitter since leaving Baltimore after 2014. However, his .303/.410/.439 line is easily the most impressive offensive output on the team right now, not to mention his club leading 14 RBI.

    Markakis is the only player to have double digit runs batted in and is tied for a share of the league lead in doubles with nine. Aside from Mallex Smith, Markakis’ 0.4 WAR represents the only starter in the lineup who does not have a WAR of zero or worse than zero.

    Ranking last in the National League in runs scored, hits, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage and of course, home runs, the Braves truly are a miserable team to watch in 2016. Since the franchise moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season, their worst campaign came back in 1988 when the club went 54-106 (.338). Things quickly turned around after that though, with John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine all appearing on the scene at around the same time. Those three pitchers are generational talents. The Braves, at first glance, have nothing like them in their system at the moment.

    The current ace, Julio Teheran, has 5.65 ERA and a 4.95 FIP in his first four starts. Then there’s Bud Norris, who hasn’t belonged on a Major League roster since 2014, yet Atlanta keeps handing him the ball. He is 4-14 with a 6.73 ERA in his last 42 big league appearances dating to the start of 2015’s season. Atlanta did make some trades in the offseason that improved the depth of their pitching prospects with the likes of Sean Newcomb and Touki Toussaint, but Newcomb is in Double-A right now and Toussaint is a ways away.

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    Aaron Blair was the No. 4 ranked prospect in the system. He debuted yesterday versus the Mets and put forth a decent effort across 5.1 IP with 3 ER and 1 K, but he was in tough against Jacob deGrom and didn’t do enough to earn his team the victory.

    For a team devoid of any power that struggles to score runs, even the bullpen is an issue. Their collective ERA of 4.48 simply will not suffice in close games and the 39-year-old Jason Grilli has been a mess at closer. He’s blown two of three save opportunities, has a 7.50 ERA an boasts a fastball that sits only a hair over 91 mph. Why manager Fredi Gonzalez hasn’t named Arodys Vizcaino his closer by now is beyond anyone’s guess.

    Then again, why Gonzalez is still the manager is another good question for Braves fans to ask themselves. Atlanta went from 79 wins in 2014 to 67 in 2015 to being on pace for 39 in 2016. Gonzalez might not have a lot to work with for the time being, but he’s doing nothing to inspire a stagnant organization. He’s rolled out 16 different batting orders in 18 games so far this year, yet the Braves remain MLB’s most futile set of bats.

    Next: 5 April stats that mean something across MLB

    With the skillful Washington Nationals and New York Mets getting regular match ups against the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, it’s going to be a long and arduous time for fans at Turner Field this summer. FanGraphs predicts Atlanta to finish with 63 wins in 2016, four fewer than NL East rival the Philadelphia Phillies. But even baseball’s fourth most losingest team since 2013 has mustered nine wins so far this season and are projected to get to 67.

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