Another Season Upon Us: A Braves Prospectus

ATLANTA BRAVES
2009 Record: 86-76 (7th in NL)
Pythagorean Record: 91-71 (-5 Luck, 13th in NL)
Batting Average: .263 (T-4th in NL)
On-Base Percentage: .339 (5th in NL)
Slugging Average: .405 (10th in NL)
Earned Run Average: 3.57 (3rd in NL)
WHIP (BB + H / IP): 1.319 (4th in NL)
Runs Scored: 735 (6th in NL)
Runs Allowed: 641 (4th in NL)
Ballpark: Turner Field (14th year)

The Braves weathered a turbulent 2009 season that saw four of their Opening Day starters lose their jobs or get traded:

• 1B Casey Kotchman - traded to Red Sox with cash for 1B Adam LaRoche
• 2B Kelly Johnson - lost his starting job to backup INF Martin Prado
• CF Jordan Schafer - demoted to Class AAA Gwinnett after a 26-game stretch when he batted .151/.231/.172 with only two doubles and five RBI
• RF Jeff Francoeur - traded to Mets after Braves grew frustrated with his futile attempts to break out

Despite the offensive inconsistencies, the Braves were buoyed by their pitching staff. Perhaps the most important contributors were Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and rookie Tommy Hanson. Vazquez had a career year with the Braves, while Jurrjens showed his promise and Tommy Hanson instantly solidified the rotation when he was called up in June. Derek Lowe, despite being wildly inconsistent, had 15 victories. Tim Hudson returned to the rotation late in the year and the Braves' first Japanese player, Kenshin Kawakami, had a reasonably successful debut with Atlanta. Combined with the solid production of the bullpen (Eric O'Flaherty, Peter Moylan, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano), the Braves clawed to within two games of the Rockies for the NL Wild Card with six games to go. However, the Braves would lose those six games to have the playoffs fall from their sight.

After some roster turnover, the Braves look to be better equipped to make a consistent run for a playoff spot.

LOSSES:
RP Manny Acosta (waivers, Mets)
LF Garret Anderson (FA, Dodgers)
RP Jorge Campillo (FA, Royals)
RP Buddy Carlyle (FA, Nippon Ham Fighters)
RF Ryan Church (FA, Pirates)
SU Mike Gonzalez (FA, Orioles)
2B Kelly Johnson (FA, Diamondbacks)
1B Adam LaRoche (FA, Diamondbacks)
PH-1B Greg Norton (FA, retired)
CL Rafael Soriano (trade, Rays)
SP Javier Vazquez (trade, Yankees)
RP Boone Logan (trade, Yankees)

ADDITIONS:
OF Melky Cabrera (trade, Yankees)
RP Michael Dunn (trade, Yankees)
SP Arodys Vizcaino (trade, Yankees)
RP Jesse Chavez (trade, Rays)
1B Troy Glaus (FA, Cardinals)
RF Jason Heyward (promotion)
UT Eric Hinske (FA, Yankees)
SU Takashi Saito (FA, Red Sox)
CL Billy Wagner (FA, Red Sox)

The Braves go into Opening Day with just one question mark lineup-wise: will Nate McLouth be able to play? If he isn't, it's likely he'll go on the disabled list and Melky Cabrera will take his slot in center field while Matt Diaz holds down left field. Every other position has been settled.

PLAYER CAPSULES

OF MELKY CABRERA
First year with Braves
2009 Stats w/NYY: 154 G, 540 PA, .274/.336/.416, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 99 OPS+
Career Stats: 569 G, 2148 PA, .269/.311/.385, 36 HR, 228 RBI, 88 OPS+

RP JESSE CHAVEZ
First year with Braves
2009 Stats: 73 G, 1-4 W-L, 0 SV, 4.01 ERA (103 ERA+), 67 1/3 IP, 69 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 22 BB, 47 SO, 1.351 WHIP
Career Stats: 88 G, 1-5 W-L, 0 SV, 4.48 ERA (93 ERA+), 82 1/3 IP, 89 H, 44 R, 41 ER, 31 BB, 63 SO, 1.457 WHIP

INF BROOKS CONRAD
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 30 G, 58 PA, .204/.259/.407, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 74 OPS+
Career Stats: 36 G, 77 PA, .192/.234/.356, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 55 OPS+

LF MATT DIAZ
Fifth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 125 G, 425 PA, .313/.390/.488, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 133 OPS+
Career Stats: 475 G, 1402 PA, .310/.358/.459, 36 HR, 161 RBI, 113 OPS+

SS YUNEL ESCOBAR
Fourth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 141 G, 604 PA, .299/.377/.436, 14 HR, 76 RBI, 116 OPS+
Career Stats: 371 G, 1546 PA, .301/.375/.426, 29 HR, 164 RBI, 112 OPS+

1B TROY GLAUS
First year with Braves
2009 Stats w/STL: 14 G, 32 PA, .172/.250/.241, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 32 OPS+
Career Stats: 1409 G, 5872 PA, .255/.359/.497, 304 HR, 879 RBI, 121 OPS+

UT ERIC HINSKE
First year with Braves
2009 Stats w/2 Teams: 93 G, 224 PA, .242/.348/.432, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 107 OPS+
Career Stats: 996 G, 3521 PA, .254/.336/.438, 113 HR, 424 RBI, 100 OPS+

SP TOMMY HANSON
Second year with Braves
Career Stats: 21 G, 21 GS, 11-4 W-L, 2.89 ERA (143 ERA+), 127 2/3 IP, 105 H, 42 R, 41 ER, 46 BB, 116 SO, 1.183 WHIP

RF JASON HEYWARD
First year with Braves
2009 Stats w/3 Teams: 99 G, 422 PA, .323/.408/.555, 17 HR, 63 RBI
Career MiL Stats: 238 G, 1003 PA, .318/.391/.508, 29 HR, 125 RBI

SP TIM HUDSON
Sixth year with the Braves
2009 Stats: 7 G, 7 GS, 2-1 W-L, 3.61 ERA (115 ERA+), 42 1/3 IP, 49 H, 17 R, 17 ER, 13 BB, 30 SO, 1.465 WHIP
Career Stats: 311 G, 310 GS, 148-78 W-L, 3.49 ERA (127 ERA+), 2059 2/3 IP, 1958 H, 874 R, 798 ER, 632 BB, 1402 SO, 1.257 WHIP

UT OMAR INFANTE
Third year with Braves
2009 Stats: 70 G, 229 PA, .305/.361/.389, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 100 OPS+
Career Stats: 660 G, 2309 PA, .264/.310/.391, 37 HR, 221 RBI, 86 OPS+

3B CHIPPER JONES
Seventeenth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 143 G, 596 PA, .264/.388/.430, 18 HR, 71 RBI, 118 OPS+
Career Stats: 2166 G, 9273 PA, .307/.406/.541, 426 HR, 1445 RBI, 143 OPS+

SP JAIR JURRJENS
Third year with the Braves
2009 Stats: 34 G, 34 GS, 14-10 W-L, 2.60 ERA (159 ERA+), 215 IP, 186 H, 71 R, 62 ER, 75 BB, 152 SO, 1.214 WHIP
Career Stats: 72 G, 72 GS, 30-21 W-L, 3.21 ERA (131 ERA+), 434 IP, 398 H, 174 R, 155 ER, 156 BB, 304 SO, 1.276 WHIP

SP KENSHIN KAWAKAMI
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 32 G, 25 GS, 7-12 W-L, 3.86 ERA (107 ERA+), 156 1/3 IP, 153 H, 73 R, 67 ER, 57 BB, 105 SO, 1.343 WHIP

SP DEREK LOWE
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 34 G, 34 GS, 15-10 W-L, 4.67 ERA (88 ERA+), 194 2/3 IP, 232 H, 109 R, 101 ER, 63 BB, 111 SO, 1.515 WHP
Career Stats: 567 G, 289 GS, 141-117 W-L, 3.84 ERA (118 ERA+), 2135 IP, 2147 H, 1034 R, 910 ER, 609 BB, 1386 SO, 1.291 WHIP

C BRIAN McCANN
Sixth season with Braves
2009 Stats: 138 G, 551 PA, .281/.349/.486, 21 HR, 94 RBI, 120 OPS+
Career Stats: 611 G, 2372 PA, .293/.356/.497, 91 HR, 389 RBI, 121 OPS+

CF NATE McLOUTH
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats w/ATL: 84 G, 396 PA, .257/.354/.419, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 105 OPS+
Career Stats: 565 G, 2075 PA, .260/.342/.454, 71 HR, 230 RBI, 109 OPS+

RP KRIS MEDLEN
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 37 G, 4 GS, 3-5 W-L, 0 SV, 4.26 ERA (97 ERA+), 67 2/3 IP, 65 H, 34 R, 32 ER, 30 BB, 72 SO, 1.404 WHIP

RP PETER MOYLAN
Fifth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 87 G, 6-2 W-L, 0 SV, 2.84 ERA (146 ERA+), 73 IP, 65 H, 29 R, 23 ER, 35 BB, 61 SO, 1.370 WHIP
Career Stats: 189 G, 11-6 W-L, 2 SV, 2.45 ERA (175 ERA+), 183 2/3 IP, 153 H, 65 R, 50 ER, 72 BB, 143 SO, 1.225 WHIP

RP ERIC O'FLAHERTY
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 78 G, 2-1 W-L, 0 SV, 3.04 ERA (136 ERA+), 56 1/3 IP, 52 H, 23 R, 19 ER, 18 BB, 39 SO, 1.243 WHIP
Career Stats: 156 G, 9-3 W-L, 0 SV, 4.63 ERA (93 ERA+), 126 1/3 IP, 131 H, 73 R, 65 ER, 48 BB, 85 SO, 1.417 WHIP

2B MARTIN PRADO
Fifth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 128 G, 503 PA, .307/.358/.464, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 117 OPS+
Career Stats: 258 G, 868 PA, .307/.360/.451, 14 HR, 93 RBI, 114 OPS+

RP JO-JO REYES
Fourth year with Braves
2009 Stats: 6 G, 5 GS, 0-2 W-L, 7.00 ERA (60 ERA+), 27 IP, 27 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 13 BB, 21 SO, 1.481 WHIP
Career Stats: 40 G, 37 GS, 5-15 W-L, 6.09 ERA (70 ERA+), 190 2/3 IP, 216 H, 141 R, 129 ER, 95 BB, 126 SO, 1.631 WHIP

C DAVID ROSS
Second year with Braves
2009 Stats: 54 G, 151 PA, .273/.380/.508, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 134 OPS+
Career Stats: 485 G, 1458 PA, .228/.317/.442, 67 HR, 174 RBI, 95 OPS+

RP TAKASHI SAITO
First year with the Braves
2009 Stats: 56 G, 3-3 W-L, 2 SV, 2.43 ERA (194 ERA+), 55 2/3 IP, 50 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 25 BB, 52 SO, 1.347 WHIP
Career Stats: 236 G, 15-10 W-L, 83 SV, 2.05 ERA (218 ERA+), 245 1/3 IP, 171 H, 59 R, 56 ER, 77 BB, 297 SO, 1.011 WHIP

CL BILLY WAGNER
First year with the Braves
2009 Stats w/2 Teams: 17 G, 1-1 W-L, 0 SV, 1.72 ERA (279 ERA+), 15 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 26 SO, 1.021 WHIP
Career Stats: 782 G, 40-38 W-L, 385 SV, 2.39 ERA (183 ERA+), 833 2/3 IP, 563 H, 248 R, 211 ER, 278 BB, 1092 SO, 1.009 WHIP