Atlanta to be a power in the NL this year?!!

[Magdal]

I caught that at the end of an ESPN show but I'm damned if I know why this could be true. What's the 411?

[Clem Fandango]

Well... Jurrjens, Hanson, a healthy Tim Hudson is a nice 1-2-3. They also got Heyward coming up (or maybe even breaking camp possibly with the big team), McClouth, McCann, Chipper. If Glaus is fully healthy he could provide considerable power form 1B which they haven't had since they had Teixeira for half a year. They've got some age and injury risk at the back of their bullpen, but Wagner proved effective at the end of the year and Saito has still been tremendously good despite his age and if they are still the same as they ever were they have one of the best 8-9 inning combos in the game.

 

Also they have Melky Cabrera, who was hand crafted by the Gods themselves and sent down from the heavens to make amazing feats of baseball gloriocity.

[UMFan83]

I don't know. They had a decent team last year, and some people thought they underachieved. Don't know if they are better after their offseason moves.

 

Lost:

Ryan Church

Mike Gonzalez

Kelly Johnson

Adam LaRoche

Javier Vazquez

Rafael Soriano

 

Gained:

Melky Cabrera

Jesse Chavez

Troy Glaus

Erik Hinske

Scott Proctor

Takashi Saito

Joe Thurston

Billy Wagner

 

Not sure what their minor league situation is like, maybe someone can fill me in, but those offseason moves don't overwhelm me.

[17 Seconds]

They've got some age and injury risk at the back of their bullpen, but Wagner proved effective at the end of the year and Saito has still been tremendously good despite his age and if they are still the same as they ever were they have one of the best 8-9 inning combos in the game.

 

saito wasn't nearly as good last season as he was his first 3 seasons. he had a 1.35 WHIP last season

[Clem Fandango]

They've got some age and injury risk at the back of their bullpen, but Wagner proved effective at the end of the year and Saito has still been tremendously good despite his age and if they are still the same as they ever were they have one of the best 8-9 inning combos in the game.

 

saito wasn't nearly as good last season as he was his first 3 seasons. he had a 1.35 WHIP last season

 

He was pitching in the "toughest division in baseball" and still managed to do pretty damn good, WHIP aside. Saito is a good arm to have in the bullpen for Atlanta setting up Wagner.

[17 Seconds]

well yeah. just saying that he is not close to what he was with the dodgers. his numbers were way down across the board.

[GeoSoto420]

Not sure what their minor league situation is like, maybe someone can fill me in, but those offseason moves don't overwhelm me.

They have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball if not the best and they have Jason Heyward who is going to be a star.

[Clem Fandango]

Not sure what their minor league situation is like, maybe someone can fill me in, but those offseason moves don't overwhelm me.

They have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball if not the best and they have Jason Heyward who is going to be a star.

 

Well, outside of Freddie Freeman I can't really think of many other offensive threats besides Heyward in their system. They've got a couple pitchers in the wings who are supposed to be good... Arodys Vizcaino and another guy... forgot his name though. Outside of those guys (and maybe one or two others I'm forgetting) I think the drop off is pretty steep

[Outshined_One]

Not sure what their minor league situation is like, maybe someone can fill me in, but those offseason moves don't overwhelm me.

They have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball if not the best and they have Jason Heyward who is going to be a star.

 

Well, outside of Freddie Freeman I can't really think of many other offensive threats besides Heyward in their system. They've got a couple pitchers in the wings who are supposed to be good... Arodys Vizcaino and another guy... forgot his name though. Outside of those guys (and maybe one or two others I'm forgetting) I think the drop off is pretty steep

 

Most of their good pitching prospects have limited experience above High A. Mike Minor might get a callup this season depending on how he develops, but he doesn't have the makings of an impact pitcher. Plus, Freeman had a wrist injury and is a bit of a question mark going into this season.