National League Wild-Card – Atlanta Braves – Matt Musico
- Why the Braves Will Win the World Series
The Atlanta Braves will win the World Series because before they collapsed last year, they were one of the top teams in the National League. Even though they didn’t make any significant moves this winter, they have a solid lineup. Michael Bourn will be leading off, getting on base, and stealing bases for the entire season, setting the table with Martin Prado. Freddie Freeman is emerging as a premier power bat and makes the lineup dynamic with other power hitters like Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, and Jason Heyward. The rotation is young, but Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens are potential Cy Young candidates when healthy. The addition of Livan Hernandez will give the young pitchers another mentor throughout the season, along with incumbent veteran Tim Hudson. Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel is ready for another 40-save season, with hard throwing Jonny Venters being the bridge to Kimbrel.
- Why the Braves Will Not Win the World Series
Even though they have a good team on paper, the Braves will not win the World Series because they have the same exact makeup as last year’s team. The new playoff system may save them and get them into the postseason this year, but manager Fredi Gonzalez leans too much on his young bullpen. Chipper Jones will barely be able to make it to the All-Star break, forcing the team to move Martin Prado to third base and insert a bench player into the starting lineup every day, making it unbalanced. The weak fielding Dan Uggla has a new double play partner in Tyler Pastornicky, will cause problems for an already overworked bullpen that will have to throw even more pitches because of miscues in the field.
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