<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QZ-ZkrFxG9WAVBoEpxOz6-C_IM8=/0x0:4076x2717/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73503064/2162470667.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
The Braves’ outfield unit has been the worst in baseball for way too long. Ronald Acuña Jr, the best player on the Braves team and reigning NL MVP, went down with a torn ACL on May 26th. Since that day, the Braves outfield has produced a 61 wRC+ and -1.6 fWAR. Both of those marks rank 30th in baseball. As a reminder, there are only 30 teams in baseball.
That means not the White Sox, not the Marlins, not the Rockies, not the Nationals, and not the Angels, but the Atlanta Braves have the worst outfield in baseball since May 26th.
Here’s the full list if you need the evidence to believe it:
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FyF1eBMf-hXy1c2-jO83A2klvxQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25560319/IMG_7343.jpeg">
FanGraphs Outfield Leaderboard
It’s not the entire reason of course, but the outfield production, or lack thereof, is a major reason why the Braves have the 26th ranked offense in baseball since the day Acuña went down. The injury to centerfielder Michael Harris II is another contributing factor to this problem but if we’re being honest, when Harris has played, he’s been much more part of the problem than the solution.
For a while there, it looked like Jarred Kelenic was going to take off an emerge as one of the core members of this team going forward. Kelenic posted a 148 wRC+ in June, basically immediately after the injury to Acuña, and did all that damage from the leadoff role. Unfortunately since then, his numbers have fallen off a very large mountain. Kelenic posted a 37 wRC+ in the month of July and has matched that production in August so far with a 35 wRC+. Kelenic’s ability to play centerfield still keeps him in the lineups most nights, but when Harris returns, he’s probably destined for another platoon role.
The other mainstay in the Braves outfield since opening day is Adam Duvall, who may be having the worst season of his career. And I only said “may” to be kind. He is absolutely having the worst season of his career. So far through 88 games and 300 plate appearances, Duvall has produced a 60 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR. It’s fair to point out that his xwOBA is about 40 points higher than his actual wOBA, so the outputs haven’t fairly match the inputs. But we’re in August now and the Braves are in a dogfight just to keep a playoff spot. They can only lean on expected numbers so much before results need to follow. The Braves desperately need better results from Duvall.
Immediately after the Acuña injury, the Braves started trying to find some cheap depth off the scrap heap pile. The two guys they ended up with were old friend Eddie Rosario after he was released from Washington, and Ramon Laureano after he was released from Cleveland.
Laureano has been at least been somewhat playable, posting a 93 wRC+ since coming over, though it’s accompanied by a ghastly 19 strikeouts to 1 walk. Add in some questionable defense at times and it’s not hard to understand why he’s produced just 0.1 fWAR in his time with the Braves.
The story on Rosario is much uglier. In the 23 games he’s played for Atlanta since coming over, Rosario has a produced a 27 wRC+ and -0.6 fWAR, and is nightly an effective zero in the lineup. Even more alarming is almost every single one of those ABs has been against right-handed pitching, the side of the platoon Eddie was brought over to help with. And it’s been a disaster. Not all that surprising considering he was released by one of the worst teams in baseball, but Rosario may not be long for the roster at this rate. The only thing keeping him around is how terrible the entire position group has been since he came over. Harris’ return to the active roster is going to bring an interesting conversation over who should be the corresponding move.
Then there’s the list of the “AAAA” guys that have been filtered in and out. Forrest Wall, Eli White, Brian Anderson, JP Martinez, Luke Williams, etc. We’re not going to go through each of these guys individually but let’s just say collectively, they’ve produced exactly what you would think a bunch of minor league fill-ins would produce.
The Braves attempted to help the problem at the trade deadline by adding DH/OF Jorge Soler and putting him in right-field. It’s still way too early to draw any conclusions as to how that move will work but it is fair to ask, given how poor the group has played overall, if they should have done more. The truth is the Braves certainly could’ve benefited from adding more than one outfielder.
But they need more. Harris hopefully will return once his 60-day IL stint is over, and again, hopefully play better than he did in the 2 1⁄2 months before he got hurt. Harris has posted an 81 wRC+ in 67 games so far this year, with most of the problem being him swinging at every piece of junk thrown anywhere near the plate. He does have an xwOBA underperformance that brings a little hope but him learning how to not swing at terrible pitches would bring even more.
But the trade deadline has come and gone. This is their group. Soler and Harris should help but they need more from Jarred Kelenic. They need more from Adam Duvall. They need more from whichever of Laurenao or Rosario are still around.
The Braves very easily have had the worst outfield in baseball since the day Acuña went down. 30th in wRC+ and 30th in fWAR. That can’t happen. The guys standing in the grass every night have to start contributing or the Braves may find themselves watching from the couch in October.
<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QZ-ZkrFxG9WAVBoEpxOz6-C_IM8=/0x0:4076x2717/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73503064/2162470667.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
The Braves’ outfield unit has been the worst in baseball for way too long. Ronald Acuña Jr, the best player on the Braves team and reigning NL MVP, went down with a torn ACL on May 26th. Since that day, the Braves outfield has produced a 61 wRC+ and -1.6 fWAR. Both of those marks rank 30th in baseball. As a reminder, there are only 30 teams in baseball.
That means not the White Sox, not the Marlins, not the Rockies, not the Nationals, and not the Angels, but the Atlanta Braves have the worst outfield in baseball since May 26th.
Here’s the full list if you need the evidence to believe it:
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FyF1eBMf-hXy1c2-jO83A2klvxQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25560319/IMG_7343.jpeg">
FanGraphs Outfield Leaderboard
It’s not the entire reason of course, but the outfield production, or lack thereof, is a major reason why the Braves have the 26th ranked offense in baseball since the day Acuña went down. The injury to centerfielder Michael Harris II is another contributing factor to this problem but if we’re being honest, when Harris has played, he’s been much more part of the problem than the solution.
For a while there, it looked like Jarred Kelenic was going to take off an emerge as one of the core members of this team going forward. Kelenic posted a 148 wRC+ in June, basically immediately after the injury to Acuña, and did all that damage from the leadoff role. Unfortunately since then, his numbers have fallen off a very large mountain. Kelenic posted a 37 wRC+ in the month of July and has matched that production in August so far with a 35 wRC+. Kelenic’s ability to play centerfield still keeps him in the lineups most nights, but when Harris returns, he’s probably destined for another platoon role.
The other mainstay in the Braves outfield since opening day is Adam Duvall, who may be having the worst season of his career. And I only said “may” to be kind. He is absolutely having the worst season of his career. So far through 88 games and 300 plate appearances, Duvall has produced a 60 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR. It’s fair to point out that his xwOBA is about 40 points higher than his actual wOBA, so the outputs haven’t fairly match the inputs. But we’re in August now and the Braves are in a dogfight just to keep a playoff spot. They can only lean on expected numbers so much before results need to follow. The Braves desperately need better results from Duvall.
Immediately after the Acuña injury, the Braves started trying to find some cheap depth off the scrap heap pile. The two guys they ended up with were old friend Eddie Rosario after he was released from Washington, and Ramon Laureano after he was released from Cleveland.
Laureano has been at least been somewhat playable, posting a 93 wRC+ since coming over, though it’s accompanied by a ghastly 19 strikeouts to 1 walk. Add in some questionable defense at times and it’s not hard to understand why he’s produced just 0.1 fWAR in his time with the Braves.
The story on Rosario is much uglier. In the 23 games he’s played for Atlanta since coming over, Rosario has a produced a 27 wRC+ and -0.6 fWAR, and is nightly an effective zero in the lineup. Even more alarming is almost every single one of those ABs has been against right-handed pitching, the side of the platoon Eddie was brought over to help with. And it’s been a disaster. Not all that surprising considering he was released by one of the worst teams in baseball, but Rosario may not be long for the roster at this rate. The only thing keeping him around is how terrible the entire position group has been since he came over. Harris’ return to the active roster is going to bring an interesting conversation over who should be the corresponding move.
Then there’s the list of the “AAAA” guys that have been filtered in and out. Forrest Wall, Eli White, Brian Anderson, JP Martinez, Luke Williams, etc. We’re not going to go through each of these guys individually but let’s just say collectively, they’ve produced exactly what you would think a bunch of minor league fill-ins would produce.
The Braves attempted to help the problem at the trade deadline by adding DH/OF Jorge Soler and putting him in right-field. It’s still way too early to draw any conclusions as to how that move will work but it is fair to ask, given how poor the group has played overall, if they should have done more. The truth is the Braves certainly could’ve benefited from adding more than one outfielder.
But they need more. Harris hopefully will return once his 60-day IL stint is over, and again, hopefully play better than he did in the 2 1⁄2 months before he got hurt. Harris has posted an 81 wRC+ in 67 games so far this year, with most of the problem being him swinging at every piece of junk thrown anywhere near the plate. He does have an xwOBA underperformance that brings a little hope but him learning how to not swing at terrible pitches would bring even more.
But the trade deadline has come and gone. This is their group. Soler and Harris should help but they need more from Jarred Kelenic. They need more from Adam Duvall. They need more from whichever of Laurenao or Rosario are still around.
The Braves very easily have had the worst outfield in baseball since the day Acuña went down. 30th in wRC+ and 30th in fWAR. That can’t happen. The guys standing in the grass every night have to start contributing or the Braves may find themselves watching from the couch in October.
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