What We Learned This Year

striker42

striker42

Well-known member
Now that the year is over, it's a good time to look back and see what we learned about this team. Here's what I got:

Roland Acuna is the Venezuelan Trout- We knew Acuna was good but he took it to another level this year. If not for a late season injury he likely would have gone 40-40. He's a true 5 tool phenomenon who will anchor this team for the next decade.

Ozzie Albies is a Superstar- After a rough second half last year there were questions about exactly how good Ozzie would end up being. He put those to rest this year. He's one of the top 3 second basemen in the game and is only 22 years old.

Mike Soroka is a Beast- Soroka looked great before he got hurt last year but shoulder injuries can be hard to come back from. Soroka came back with a vengeance posting a 4 WAR. His FIP and xFIP show he might have been a little lucky but there's also a good chance he's one of those guys who outperforms those stats. Either way, he's a 22 year old anchor of this staff.

Freddie Freeman Wilts Under Pressure- When he was 23 playing on a team with guys like Brian McCann and Justin Upton, Freeman didn't have as much pressure on him in the playoffs. The team wasn't looking to him to put them on his shoulders. Fast forward to 2018 and 2019 and this is Freeman's team. Now, with the pressure on him, he's turned in two straight terrible post season series. In the past two post seasons he's gone 8 for 36 (.222 average) with 2 BBs, 9 Ks, and a .699 OPS. He also committed one of the biggest errors in Braves playoffs history. Freeman is not a guy to look to as the leader of your team in the playoffs.

Adam Duvall Has Something Left in the Tank- Duvall is not a starter and I probably don't even want him in a platoon role. But as a bat off the bench to face a tough lefty, he still has use. He came up with two of the biggest hits of the season in the playoffs and for that I'll tip my hat to him.

Max Fried is an Asset- Fried is kind of the anti-Soroka. While Mike consistently outperformed his FIP, Fried trailed his. To quote Bowman, there's reason to believe Fried could be poised for a big year. He K'd more than a batter an inning, had a BB/9 of 2.55, and had extremely unlucky HR/FB and BABIP. If Fried's luck equalizes, he could be better than Soroka. If he continues to polish his craft and improve, he's got ace potential.


So what did the rest of you learn?
 
Let's see if MLB changes the balls back next year.

according to [MENTION=118]thewupk[/MENTION] , there's rumors the balls used in the postseason were not the same juiced balls during regular season. And the only reason I buy it is because we must've hit like 10 warning trackers that looked like they would've been out earlier this year.




As for what I learned, it's that Snitker still has not learned how to properly platoon, construct a lineup that takes into consideration middle-late game bullpen matchups, and rest guys regularly throughout the year.
 
Fried is pretty good. The peripherals are great but he had some bad luck with BABIP and HR/FB. He and Soroka give us a potent 1-2 at the top of the rotation.

I think we will let Julion go. What we do with the two open spots in the rotation will be the most interesting story of this off-season. AA could go in any number of directions:

1) Trade for an established starter
2) Go with two young uns in the rotation
3) Look for another Anibal off the trash heap
4) Give Newk one final try as a starter
5) Bring back Keuchel (or sign a similar caliber FA pitcher)

The direction he goes will of course be tied to how much he spends at third and catcher.

He will not be signing Gerrit Cole.
 
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Inciarte and Markakis are mysteries for the short term. If able to move Inciarte and his 2 years then may keep Markakis as a LH bat ofer. Acuna, Riley, Duval, Pache all being RH poses questions. Waters may play in off season plans as well. Money always seems to play in Atlanta more than most teams. How soon can Contreras and Langoliers (Jackson to lesser degree) impact catcher situation. They may preclude a Grandal effort. I don't believe Donaldson is in the future for Braves nor is Teheran. Pick up Julios option would make him really untradeable IMO. Best to just say so long. Not even sure today what Foltys tomorrow holds.
 
I learned Nick Markakis is done as anything more than bench bat. I don't even want him as part of a platoon because his defense is so bad. Get a real RFer this offseason. Keep one of Duval/Joyce as the back-up OFer, preferrably the player the opposite handed of whatever RFer you bring in.

I learned that Snitker will never make the right decision in regards to lineup construction or BP matchups. There should be absolutely zero reason Acuna is batting leadoff in 2020. Even if he says he's more comfortable there, you explain it to him that batting him somewhere between 2-4 is what is best for the team.

I learned that ignoring the BP this past off-season continued to be a mistake that bled into the postseason. Hopefully AA is more active this off-season in finding quality BP arms, or at least bringing in more ST invite type of guys to give us options.

I learned that Folty still hasn't learned not to fold like a lawn chair when things start to unravel. If we had better options, I'd happily trade him to a team that thinks they can "fix" him. As it stands, unless we sign/trade for a quality starter, we can't afford to trade away a guy that has the ability to be a solid mid rotation starter when we have no quality options to replace him. We already have to replace Keuchel.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
Inciarte and Markakis are mysteries for the short term. If able to move Inciarte and his 2 years then may keep Markakis as a LH bat ofer. Acuna, Riley, Duval, Pache all being RH poses questions. Waters may play in off season plans as well. Money always seems to play in Atlanta more than most teams. How soon can Contreras and Langoliers (Jackson to lesser degree) impact catcher situation. They may preclude a Grandal effort. I don't believe Donaldson is in the future for Braves nor is Teheran. Pick up Julios option would make him really untradeable IMO. Best to just say so long. Not even sure today what Foltys tomorrow holds.
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I think Riley needs to be given some time in AAA to sort a few things out. Contreras will repeat in AA and Lango will probably start off the season in high A. Alex Jackson is a scrub. I think the situation at catcher does in fact merit spending some money on a guy like Grandal. Maybe too many other teams will be in on him. But we should at least kick the tires. Cervelli is not a bad Plan B imo if instead we end up spending big on a third baseman and bow out of the Grandal sweepstakes.
 
Carp said:
I learned Nick Markakis is done as anything more than bench bat. I don't even want him as part of a platoon because his defense is so bad. Get a real RFer this offseason. Keep one of Duval/Joyce as the back-up OFer, preferrably the player the opposite handed of whatever RFer you bring in.

I learned that Snitker will never make the right decision in regards to lineup construction or BP matchups. There should be absolutely zero reason Acuna is batting leadoff in 2020. Even if he says he's more comfortable there, you explain it to him that batting him somewhere between 2-4 is what is best for the team.

I learned that ignoring the BP this past off-season continued to be a mistake that bled into the postseason. Hopefully AA is more active this off-season in finding quality BP arms, or at least bringing in more ST invite type of guys to give us options.

I learned that Folty still hasn't learned not to fold like a lawn chair when things start to unravel. If we had better options, I'd happily trade him to a team that thinks they can "fix" him. As it stands, unless we sign/trade for a quality starter, we can't afford to trade away a guy that has the ability to be a solid mid rotation starter when we have no quality options to replace him. We already have to replace Keuchel.
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Muk will likely be back. But he can't be playing every day. That much is clear.

As for the pen, I think we will give opportunities to some of our younger arms: Wilson, Wright, Touki, Sobotka, Webb. Blend them in with Melancon, Greene and Jackson. Minter and Dayton will be part of the picture too.
 
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We learned what not to do and what guys we can trust in what situations. We learned that our manager has no clue about how to deploy certain guys in certain situations. I’m gonna say there are several changes this offseason coming. A few may be surprising.
 
Super said:
wanna bet he'll play near every day is Snit is the manager?
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Snit will be given firmer guidance on certain things by the FO. That is also pretty clear. Other teams have taken the "rest" issue out of the manager's hands by pre-programming rest days. The Yankees have done that this season.
 
nsacpi said:
Fried is pretty good. The peripherals are great but he had some bad luck with BABIP and HR/FB. He and Soroka give us a potent 1-2 at the top of the rotation.

I think we will let Julion go. What we do with the two open spots in the rotation will be the most interesting story of this off-season. AA could go in any number of directions:

1) Trade for an established starter
2) Go with two young uns in the rotation
3) Look for another Anibal off the trash heap
4) Give Newk one final try as a starter
5) Bring back Keuchel (or sign a similar caliber FA pitcher)

The direction he goes will of course be tied to how much he spends at third and catcher.

He will not be signing Gerrit Cole.
Click to expand...


I'd kick the tires on an ace in the off-season. 2 candidates that have seen their stocks fall a bit this year are Blake Snell and Corey Kluber.

I kind of doubt we let JT go. He's a very good 4-5 type of pitcher that eats innings. I guess the question is what do we think JT will get on the open market. If AA doesn't think JT can get 12 million in FA, then it makes sense to let him go. If not, then I think you have to bring him back.
 
Carp said:
I'd kick the tires on an ace in the off-season. 2 candidates that have seen their stocks fall a bit this year are Blake Snell and Corey Kluber.

I kind of doubt we let JT go. He's a very good 4-5 type of pitcher that eats innings. I guess the question is what do we think JT will get on the open market. If AA doesn't think JT can get 12 million in FA, then it makes sense to let him go. If not, then I think you have to bring him back.
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My out-of-the box thought is Newk will be given another shot in the rotation. You can always move him back to the pen if it doesn't take. At which point Anderson should be ready.
 
nsacpi said:
My out-of-the box thought is Newk will be given another shot in the rotation. You can always move him back to the pen if it doesn't take. At which point Anderson should be ready.
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He should be given the opportunity along with others to fight for that 5th rotation spot in ST, assuming he isn't traded.
 
nsacpi said:
Snit will be given firmer guidance on certain things by the FO. That is also pretty clear. Other teams have taken the "rest" issue out of the manager's hands by pre-programming rest days. The Yankees have done that this season.
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you are more optimistic than i am.
 
Carp said:
He should be given the opportunity along with others to fight for that 5th rotation spot in ST, assuming he isn't traded.
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Four way battle in spring training for 2 spots between Newk, Wright, Wilson and Touki. With Anderson held in reserve for a May/June callup.

It is also worth noting that Weigel, Davidson and Ynoa will be in AAA. During spring training, Touki was given first dibs as a starter. Fried did not emerge until Touki faltered. So there are lots of possibilities. Young pitchers develop in unpredictable ways.
 
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