COBB COUNTY, Ga. — If you ask anyone who plays for or follows the Atlanta Braves, coming one game from the World Series in 2020 only left everyone hungry for more.
The Braves’ 2020 season saw the team captured their third straight National League East crown and first championship series appearance in 19 years before the Dodgers knocked them out in the NLCS Game 7.
The Bravos jumped out early in free agency, grabbing two veteran starting pitchers in December, then re-signing slugger Marcell Ozuna just before spring training.
Combine that with a slew of returning young talent has almost everyone in Braves country chomping at the bit for 2021 to start in full.
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Baseball almost always starts with pitching and the one weakness on the 2020 squad was the fact several starters were either injured or did not perform close to expectations.
Charlie Morton, one of the best pitchers in baseball the past five years, was brought in this offseason and the 37-year-old’s presence should only enhance an already strong, young staff.
Veteran lefthander Drew Smyly was also signed after performing extremely well during a short stint in San Francisco last year.
The pair will bolster a young and quickly improving rotation headlined by Max Fried who was outstanding in 2020, going undefeated in seven regular season starts. Ian Anderson, who is still technically a rookie, dominated the last few games of the regular season and was even better during the playoffs.
Add in ace Mike Soroka, who is expected back in the rotation within the next few weeks after rehabbing his Achilles injury, and the Braves by most accounts could have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball.
The bullpen will be anchored by Will Smith and Chris Martin. Martin was again outstanding and has walked eight batters combined in his two seasons in Atlanta. A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek had excellent seasons in 2020 the Braves are counting heavily on their improvement this year.
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Of course no Braves story would be complete without the bats as the Bravos were one of baseball’s most productive teams in 2020.
Freeman is looking to enhance his Hall of Fame credentials after winning 2020′s NL MVP award. All-world right fielder Ronald Acuna struggled with some injuries last season, but the year before hit 40 HR’s and stole nearly 40 bases.
All Ozuna did batting behind Freeman last season was hit .338 with 18 HR’s and 56 RBI’s while playing every game.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies returns healthy and looks to improve on a tough 2020, while shortstop Dansby Swanson looks to pick up where he left off. Third baseman Austin Riley had some struggles but showed improvement and the expectations for him are high heading into 2021.
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The big challenge for the Braves in 2021 is going to probably be repeating as division champ. The NL East is loaded with good teams with the Mets picking up Francisco Lindor and a slew of of new pitchers.
Philadelphia and Washington both made some roster upgrades and the young and hungry Marlins are always a tough out.
Most experts have the Braves either winning the East or Wild Card but expect them to run into the Dodgers buzz saw yet again.
But if the pitching is as strong as many think it will be and the threat of scoring five to 10 runs every night out, the Braves remain a big threat to not only win the east. It’s not a reach to say they could get to the World Series.