Atlanta Braves Hitters: 2015 Team Preview

Aug 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (right) greets right fielder Jason Heyward (left) at home plate after Heyward hit a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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The Braves are in full rebuild mode after falling apart in the second half of 2014. It is quite clear that the Braves are going to be terrible for a couple years because it seems like their plan is to put it all together in 2017 when their new stadium, SunTrust Park, opens. As for now, there is only one relevant hitter for your fantasy team after Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and Evan Gattis were traded away.

The best hitter on the Atlanta Braves (and the only good one) is Freddie Freeman. While Freeman may be a better real life than fantasy hitter, I think we see Freddie Freeman hit more homers in 2015. In 2014, Freeman led the league with a ridiculous 31% line drive rate, but had a career low 11.9% HR/FB%. Those numbers make his .338 career BABIP very sustainable and are encouraging for next season.

His high frequency of well-hit balls and bad luck with fly balls makes me believe that he will hit closer to 25 homers in 2015. While Freddie Freeman only has a career-high of 23 home runs, he is still only 25 years old. Freeman does a lot of things right at the plate, and I think his advanced hitting skills will pay off for his fantasy owners. His ceiling is lower than the top first baseman, but he will assuredly produce in every offensive category outside of steals.

Tanner Bell of Smart Fantasy Baseball has created all of the projections seen in this post. You can read about how he develops his projections here. His projections are invaluable to this site. You can also visit his site at www.smartfantasybaseball.com.