Young: Braves set to begin World Series or bust season

AP photo by Gerald Herbert / The Atlanta Braves line up for the national anthem before the start of a spring training exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies on March 18 in North Port, Fla.
AP photo by Gerald Herbert / The Atlanta Braves line up for the national anthem before the start of a spring training exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies on March 18 in North Port, Fla.

Baseball is a team sport, right, but rarely does the sum end up greater than its parts.

As far as parts go, the 2023 Atlanta Braves are stacked. As the season begins, it can be argued the team has the best collection of upper-tier talent in Major League Baseball.

That's a big deal in this season of change as, no matter how equally stacked fellow National League East rivals New York and Philadelphia might be, a balanced schedule SHOULD provide an edge to the teams with the most "dudes."

If that's the case, then manager Brian Snitker's five-time consecutive division champs are set again for a deep playoff run. ESPN's annual list of top 100 players includes eight Braves — and all are in the top 74.

The Mets have seven, the Phllies six and the Miami Marlins even have three in the top 100, giving the NL East nearly a quarter of the game's top players. The significance of the balanced schedule is that none of those teams will have to play the other 19 times this season (side note: the NL Central might not have a .500-plus team this year).

Of course, things happen — just look at the season-ending injuries to New York's Edwin Diaz and Philly's Rhys Hoskins this spring — but even average seasons by the Braves' Elite Eight should guarantee another playoff appearance. That, though, isn't enough for Atlanta fans, who endured an inglorious flameout against the Phillies in last season's playoffs.

So how does this become a World Series championship season, and what might derail it?

Despite the disappointing loss of shortstop Dansby Swanson in free agency and with prospects Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake unable to win the job in camp, the everyday lineup is still potent — but there are potential pitfalls.

Can right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. return to his pre-injury status? National pundits are predicting numbers as high as a 40-homer, 40-stolen base season, but he struggled mightily for Venezuela in the recent World Baseball Classic, seemingly determined to hit home runs on every swing. This team will not achieve greatness without its most dangerous weapon being great.

Can second baseman Ozzie Albies stay healthy and get back to being a disruptive offensive force? He's had a great spring, so things are trending in the right direction, but the best Ozzie is one who doesn't consistently swing for the fences. He was the missing piece in last season's playoffs and just needs to be consistent.

What do the Braves get out of left field? Will it be Eddie Rosario, Marcell Ozuna, Sam Hilliard, Jordan Luplow or TBD? This doesn't have to be a great offensive position, but it can't be a black hole either. Ozuna has looked focused, in shape and, honestly, dangerous this spring. His return to relevance would be a huge boost, but whoever earns the job just has to be decent.

Can Michael Harris maintain? Sophomore slumps are a real thing, but for this team, the elite center fielder — like Albies — needs to concentrate on making contact and using his speed to make things happen. With sure things in the middle of the lineup in third baseman Austin Riley and first baseman Matt Olson, setting the table is the major key for this lineup.

Can the pitching staff withstand early injuries and depth concerns? It hasn't been a great start, with closer Raisel Iglesias sidelined for now and Kyle Wright and rehabbing former ace Mike Soroka dealing with minor injuries.

What we know is Max Fried is the real deal and Spencer Strider is an ace in the making. Wright, once healthy, is one of the league's best No. 3 starters, veteran Charlie Morton is great as a back-end rotation staple and rookie Jared Shuster outshined Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder to claim the fifth starter spot. Anything this team can get from Soroka is a major bonus.

The relief corps is a bit of a concern with Iglesias out with shoulder trouble (which rarely goes away quickly). A.J Minter can close, but he's prone to serious bouts of wildness. Kirby Yates led the NL in saves before being injured, but can he be dominant after two years of injury rehab?

The other unknown, as it is with every team, is how the Braves will respond to multiple rules changes.

While the implementation of the pitch clock has garnered the most attention, the two most impactful changes are the infield shift ban and the moves — limiting throws to first base to hold runners and increasing the size of bases — designed to promote stolen bases.

Defensively, the Braves assured themselves they will be ahead of the pack in stopping opposing runners with the acquisition of elite catcher Sean Murphy. Holdover Travis d'Arnaud is a great backup and will see ample time as the designated hitter, but keeping teams from running wild is going to be a major challenge for most clubs.

The shift ban shouldn't affect the Braves offensively as much as most teams (unfortunately, Snitker isn't likely to run any more or put runners in motion regardless of where the infielders are aligned), but the team has plus defenders at every position — including shortstop Orlando Arcia — so playing straight-up defense is preferable anyway.

Avoiding injuries is a big deal for this team because there's not much in the minors after several years of having major contributors graduate to the bigs, and the team doesn't have a lot of trade bait for later in the season.

It all adds up to a possible — and mostly expected — special season. This is an elite team in its prime. Maybe, especially considering the unmatched level of spending by the Mets, it's unrealistic to say it's World Series or bust.

That's exactly, though, what it feels like.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.

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