2008 Braves Projections

by Eli Greenspan on Feb 2, 2008 12:03 PM EST

C Brian McCann
.313 AVG, 22 HR, 96 RBI
1B Mark Teixeira
.309 AVG, 38 HR, 122 RBI
2B Kelly Johnson
.266 AVG, 12 HR, 64 RBI
3B Chipper Jones
.315 AVG, 24 HR, 87 RBI
SS Yunel Escobar
.282 AVG, 9 HR, 58 RBI
LF Matt Diaz
.296 AVG, 14 HR, 54 RBI
CF Mark Kotsay
.284 AVG, 9 HR, 56 RBI
RF Jeff Francoeur
.287 AVG, 25 HR, 104 RBI

SP John Smoltz
15-9 W-L, 3.55 ERA, 186 K
SP Tim Hudson
18-8 W-L, 3.39 ERA, 143 K
SP Tom Glavine
9-7 W-L, 4.42 ERA, 85 K
SP Chuck James
9-12 W-L, 4.54 ERA, 117 K
SP Jair Jurrjens
8-6 W-L, 4.24 ERA, 78 K

SP Mike Hampton
9-3 W-L, 4.06 ERA, 66 K

NOTE: THIS IS A PROJECTION, SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Updates:
1. Mike Hampton (03/23/08)

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Comments

hahahahahaha...hampton

hahahahahahahaha

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 12:35 PM EST reply actions

i think the hudson projection is optimstic, but it is realistic to see him take two losses and turn them into wins. especially with a full year of tex.

by bravesfan on Feb 2, 2008 12:37 PM EST reply actions

these are good...but wont win division

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 12:40 PM EST reply actions

The OF lacks pop and the Starting pitching is old. They are atbest a wildcard contender. If Mccann and Texiera can produce career numbers they have a shot at 85-90 wins.

by Bucky, NY on Feb 2, 2008 12:46 PM EST reply actions

Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar should both be much better than those projections. Mark Kotsay will probably be worse than that. Diaz will likely hit at least .015 points higher than where you have him. I very much doubt Chuck James will post a losing record, and I suspect Glavine will have more than just 16 decisions to his name.

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 1:28 PM EST reply actions

why will diaz hit higher?

i think pitchiing is right on...old

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 2:35 PM EST reply actions

I think the power numbers are rather low for Kelly Johnson. Little low for Francoeur and Diaz too, if they get in a full season.

by Mortecai on Feb 2, 2008 4:20 PM EST reply actions

"why will diaz hit higher?"

Because in 774 MLB at bats Diaz is a career .320 hitter. In 2854 career MILB at bats, Diaz is a career .315 hitter. If you want to look at his more recent years, he's coming off a .338 year in 358 at bats in 2007, and a .327 year in 297 at bats in 2006. His last seasons in the minors where he had at least half a season's at bats he hit .371 (AAA, 2005), .332 (AAA, 2004), .328 (AAA, 2003) and .383 (AA, 2003).

So yeah, the guys only been a consistent .320 hitter or better for going on forever. I see no real reason why he won't stick around that pace.

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 5:01 PM EST reply actions

The offense lacks pop? Hardly. Chipper, Tex, Frecnhy, McCann, Johnson, Escobar, Diaz. That hardly lacks "pop". However, Castillo, Delgado, Church, Schneider, does.

by Anonymous on Feb 2, 2008 6:15 PM EST reply actions

How the hell could delgado lack pop and johnson, diaz, and escobar have pop? also church will likely put up comparable #'s to Diaz over a full season.

by Anonymous on Feb 3, 2008 3:54 PM EST reply actions

"How the hell could delgado lack pop and johnson, diaz, and escobar have pop? also church will likely put up comparable #'s to Diaz over a full season."

While Delgado clearly could jump back to his old numbers, to say that Escobar, Johnson, and Diaz are not good hitters is nothing short of idiocy. Escobar and Diaz should be relative safe bets to hit .300 or significantly above .300, and Johnson provides a .280 BA with 20+ HR pop and close to a .400 OBP. All three of those hitters are much better than Ryan Church

by Anonymous on Feb 3, 2008 6:44 PM EST reply actions

well until kelly johnson has proved he could put up better #'s than church over a full season im not going to say he's better. last yr their #'s were almost identical. It's also unlikely escobar will produce the overall production renteria gave them. i'm not saying their not good hitters but in terms of 'pop' they dont bring much more than delgado even in their up yr (johnson) delgados down yr

by Anonymous on Feb 5, 2008 9:37 AM EST reply actions

Here's the difference. Kelly Johnson plays second base, Ryan Church plays right field. As a RF, Church has weak numbers. As a second baseman, Kelly Johnson has very strong numbers. Kelly Johnson had the third highest OPS among all NL second baseman last year at .831, behind only Utley and Kent, and ahead of studs like Orlando Hudson, Brandon Phillips, and Dan Uggla.

Meanwhile, there's no reason to doubt Escobar. The fact is that last year was a career year for Renteria, and even he likely wasn't going to fill the shoes he wore last year. Renteria is historically much more like a .290 - .310 hitter. Escobar should be that much at the very least, along with much better defensive range, and a better arm.

And finally ... why compare our middle infielder's offensive production to your first baseman's production? Again, it's backwards logic. Delgado's numbers last year were weak for a 1st baseman. Obviously, if he was a SS or a 2B, they'd be viewed completely differently. Likewise, Johnson or Escobar as first baseman would only be decent, but as middle infielders they're outstanding.

by Anonymous on Feb 6, 2008 1:30 AM EST reply actions

chipper will have a better year than that. he will be hitting in front of tex he will see better pitches than he did last year when he was in front of andruw and he will get over 100 rbis like always

by Anonymous on Mar 23, 2008 8:05 PM EDT reply actions

kelly johnson will hit closer to 20 homers and diaz will hit over .320 all of chippers stats will be higher than what you are projecting i see him hitting between .325-.335 30 homers 100 rbis

by Anonymous on Mar 25, 2008 11:33 AM EDT reply actions