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After sweeping a tough Chicago Cubs team the Atlanta Braves look tougher than ever. Going into the second week of the 2013 season they seem to clearly have one of the best teams in the major leagues. They had four quality starts out of the five pitchers the first time through the order and Tim Hudson started the second round even better than the first. Offensively they are as strong as any team in the majors bar none.
The interesting thing to think about is that they aren’t hitting on all cylinders just yet. Sure they have produced all of these runs without yet getting a game where all three of the wonder-outfield produce well. Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton are off to a slower start than Justin Upton and sure they are getting by extremely well in spite of it. That isn’t the point here though. The point here is depth.
Sunday was the first game they played with Freddie Freeman, a top of the line first baseman by anyone’s standard. Also they were without Andrelton Simmons this weekend who is officially day-to-day with a thumb issue. They keep producing runs even with those two guys out. Still, there is more to my point than that however.
What happens at the end of April? Who comes back healthy for the first time in over two years? Answer: Brian McCann. This is a contract year for McCann but he seems to just want to get on the field. How good could this Braves offense be with all three outfielders up to speed, a healthy Freeman, Simmons and the returning world class catcher McCann? It’s really kind of scary.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
