Atlanta Braves

Health Check

“This year’s team figures to be a younger group and their could be more youth on the way. Ozzie Albies arrived late last season and was impressive in his debut. He is entering his first full season as the team’s full time second baseman. Acuna is slated to arrive sometime after opening day but should be a fixture in the team’s outfield upon his arrival.

Acuna ascension to top prospect status was sudden. He dominated through three levels of the minors last season as a 19-year-old and got better at every stop. The Braves have been careful not to place any lofty expectations upon Acuna’s shoulders so far, but the hope is that he will be an impact player sooner rather than later.

Despite Acuna’s excellence, the biggest part of this rebuild has been the accumulation of pitching depth. Some of the top arms in the organization are moving close to the major leagues.

Sean Newcomb, Luiz Gohara, Max Fried and A.J. Minter all got their feet wet in the majors last season. Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard and Kyle Wright could be right behind them this season.”

—Talking Chop

Key Player

There will be a lot of reasons to watch the Atlanta Braves in 2018, but perhaps the biggest will be the arrival of Ronald Acuña. With a rebuild that focused on pitching, it is a bit surprising that an outfielder climbed his way to the top of the Braves’ prospect list. That is exactly what Acuña accomplished in 2017 with a meteoric rise through three levels of the Braves’ system that saw him improve at each stop. Now factor in that he was just 19 years old and you have what many describe as a generational talent.

The Braves hope that success carries over to the big leagues and that he can slot in somewhere behind Freddie Freeman and provide some much needed power from the right side of the plate. If you are just a casual fan or just searching for a reason to watch the Braves in 2018, look no further than Ronald Acuña.

—Kris Willis, Talking Chop

Best Case

The Braves turned over their front office and lost a number of prospects to MLB punishment over an international signing scandal, but the farm system is still loaded, and top prospect Ronald Acuña is still in the 2018 plans. Former first-overall pick Dansby Swanson is still young enough for that designation to matter, veteran starters Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir should be an upgrade on last winter’s choices for those roles, and all of this could very well lead to a season that lets the MLB world know that the Braves are almost back.

Worst Case

The prospects the Braves lost as punishment flourish elsewhere, while the ones they still have don’t take comforting steps forward. The veterans on the roster don’t perform in a way where new prospects can easily be acquired in trades, either, making 2018 feel like a waste of a rebuilding year in a division where just one team is truly going for it. Oh, and the Braves decide to hold Ronald Acuña in the minors to gain an extra year of team control, radicalizing him for the coming labor battle and contract negotiations in the same way the Cubs did to Kris Bryant.