Atlanta Braves 2017 Season Review and Offseason Preview
Catchers hitting
Coming into 2017, starter Tyler Flowers had a career line of .232/.302/.384 and backup Kurt Suzuki had a .256/.311/.372 line over his career. Over their combined careers, the Braves catchers had hit a home run every 41.9 at bats coming into the season.
In 2017, Flowers hit .281/.378/.445 with 12 home runs in 99 games while Suzuki hit .283/.351/.536 with 19 home runs over 81 games. Combined, they hit a home run every 19.1 at bats on the season.
On top of taking a position that many expected would be an offensive black hole and making it one of the lineup’s strengths, both Flowers and Suzuki played very well behind the plate, with Flowers continuing to grow into one of the best framers in the game while Suzuki did very well handling knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey.
Young hitter performances
Not every young hitter that came up from the minor leagues performed well, but it was very pleasing to see the performance of a number of young players that came up for the Braves over the season.
Ozzie Albies only got 57 games at the big league level, but he made a big impression in that short time, hitting .286/.354/.456 with 9 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, and 8 stolen bases.
Johan Camargo also hit very well as a rookie, playing around the infield. The switch-hitter showed his changed approach at the plate in hitting .299/.331/.452 with 21 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 home runs over 82 games.
While he was an “older” rookie at 27, the emergence of Lane Adams as the fourth outfielder was a very positive development for the Braves in 2017. While an excellent Twitter follow and a sharp guy off of the field, Adams had not had much chance to show his skills on the field at the major league level before 2017, when he hit .275/.339/.468 over 85 games and 122 plate appearances, hitting 5 home runs and stealing 10 bases.
Young pitcher performances
The focus of the Atlanta Braves’ rebuild has been on pitching, and they got to see the first wave of the top arms of that rebuild begin to filter into the major leagues this season.
Lefty Sean Newcomb got the most time at the major league level, getting 19 starts, throwing exactly 100 major league innings, with a 4.32 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and a 57/108 BB/K ratio. He did struggle with control issues, but he showed excellent raw stuff, as evidenced by getting over a K/9.
Lefties Luiz Gohara and Max Fried each got a selection of starts over the season, combining for just 55 innings, and while their ERA wasn’t great, Gohara showed impressive stuff, with an 8/31 BB/K ratio over 29 1/3 innings, and Fried really finished strong, posting a 3.81 ERA total in his 26 innings.
Relievers Dan Winkler and A.J. Minter are expected to be important parts of the 2018 Atlanta Braves bullpen. Winkler posted a 2.51 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 6/18 BB/K over 14 1/3 innings. Minter showed electric stuff, posting a 3.00 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but showing out with a 2/26 BB/K ratio over 15 innings.