The Braves Under-the-Radar Lineup

Heading into this season, many throughout baseball, fans, executives, and media members alike, expected the Braves to still be in full rebuild mode, but also offered the idea that they could stay relevant somewhat throughout the season, thanks to playing in a weak division otherwise known as the NL East.

Regardless of how you look at it, the Atlanta Braves have some very interesting young, up and coming talent on their roster and that was illustrated in last night's 13-6 win against the Washington Nationals. Of course, the Braves aren't the best team in the National League at the moment or even close to beating out the Washington Nationals or New York Mets for a playoff berth, but they are going to be a fascinating team to watch during the remainder of this season.

Going into play today, the Braves currently lead all of baseball in runs scored with 41 and that is over the span of five games. The Braves started the season on Thursday scoring 8 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day, then ended Friday with a loss, scored 15 runs on Saturday against the Phillies, before losing on Monday, and finding themselves in the win column again last night. Alberit a small sample size, the Braves currently have a run differential of +15, an early indication that their lineup could be really good and somewhat underrated this season.

As Buster Olney of ESPN pointed out on Twitter (Link: https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/981504361535852545), one of the Braves key cogs to their early offensive success has been All-Star first baseman, Freddie Freeman, who continually always puts up impressive numbers and barely gets any attention on a national level. So far this season, Freeman is 6-for-15 at the plate with a double, 2 home runs, 10 walks, and two strikeouts. All of that adds up for a .400 batting average, .640 on-base percentage, and a .867 slugging percentage. Talk about a way to come out of the gate strong!

Freeman, who is currently 28, is in the midst of his prime right now and if he continues this torrid pace throughout the entire season, the Braves are going to have a very formidable lineup. While Freeman is a key cog to their lineup, there are other pieces that also have a direct impact on the Braves offensive potential this season.

Through five games, Ryan Flaherty, leads the Braves offense with a .474 batting average over the span of 19 at bats and has 9 hits in that period. Furthermore, Braves left fielder, Preston Tucker, has burst on the scene going 8-for-19 to start the season with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI, and a .421 on-base percentage. Going even further, Nick Markakis and his 7-for-21 start along with Dansby Swanson and his .318 batting average over 5 games, have added an extra boost to the Braves lineup.

While I'm not suggesting that the Braves lineup will be all peaches and cream throughout the season, I am suggesting that some might be sleeping on the potential that their lineup has and the fact that the pieces are starting to fall into place for when the Braves will be a relevant contender again. Right now, everyone is contributing in the Braves lineup from the top to the bottom.

For an example of that, look no further than the top of Atlanta's lineup in leadoff hitter and centerfielder, Ender Inciarte. Inciarte came over to the Braves along with starting pitcher, Aaron Blair, and shortstop, Dansby Swanson, in exchange of Shelby Miller, from the Diamondbacks two years ago. Inciarte might be off to a slow start this season, but he is your prototypical leadoff hitter who provides plenty of speed, as illustrated by his 79 stolen bases over the span of five big league seasons, and has the ability to get on-base when it's needed the most.

In addition to Inciarte, second baseman, Ozzie Albies, is another player to watch closely to make a significant impact on the Braves lineup this year. Albies, who is a very ripe 21-year old, finished last season batting: .286/.354/.456 over 217 at bats with 62 hits, 9 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, 28 RBI, 21 walks, and 8 stolen bases. Since Albies is only 21, at this point, the sky is basically the limit for him and many believe that he has the potential to have a very big bat for a second baseman.

Right now, the Braves might have a 2-3 record to start the year and they probably won't finish with one of the better records in the National League this season, but don't let that fool you into thinking that they don't have any good offensive pieces. Atlanta has a very good lineup based on the evaluation above and could easily finish the season with one of the best lineups in all of baseball. It's certainly not a stretch with the amount of young talent and the fact that, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis, are the Braves 3 and 4 hitters.

With the right amount of pitching and as the talent culminates at the big league level, anything is possible for this Braves team moving forward. They may not be a relevant team in the grand scheme of things, but don't sleep on the talent they possess or the offensive weapons in their lineup. The Braves are young, they're confident, and they're ready to show the rest of baseball who they really are.