Braves' excitement for '21 reaches fever pitch

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- With many of the key players who put them a win away from last year’s World Series still around, the Braves are nearing the end of Spring Training with genuine confidence and excitement.

Charlie Morton was signed in November to add a veteran frontline presence to the rotation and Marcell Ozuna was re-signed in February to maintain the strength of a formidable lineup. The National League East will be even more challenging this year. But the Braves’ rotation and lineup could be stronger than any of the previous three seasons, each of which resulted in a division title.

Here is a look at some of the key storylines that developed for the Braves during Spring Training:

Best development

Manager Brian Snitker was fortunate to get through camp without any of his key players being affected by concerning injuries or ailments. At the same time, Mike Soroka made steady progress as he continues to rehab from the right Achilles surgery that he had performed in August. If Soroka avoids any setbacks over the next few weeks, there is a chance that he could rejoin Atlanta’s rotation during the final week of April.

A healthy rotation of Max Fried, Ian Anderson, Drew Smyly, Morton and Soroka would certainly strengthen the Braves’ bid to win a fourth straight NL East title and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1999.

Unfortunate events

Cristian Pache will likely still begin the season as Atlanta’s center fielder. But the top prospect hasn’t yet done much to lessen concerns about his offensive development. Still, he has the potential to immediately become a Gold Glove Award winner and he is capable of providing at least as much offensively as Ender Inciarte can. So the Braves will hope that Pache goes through April creating the optimism that his bat didn’t produce in March.

Player who opened eyes

Looking only at the Major Leaguers, Fried had the most impressive camp. The lefty looked intent and capable of once again being an NL Cy Young Award candidate.

But the player who produced the most buzz was Michael Harris, who ranks No. 11 among Braves prospects per MLB Pipeline. Harris has played just 53 professional games since being selected out of suburban Atlanta’s Stockbridge HS in 2019. With that in mind, the 20-year-old outfielder will likely need another year or two of Minor League seasoning. But while lacing a few of Soroka’s pitches during a sim game last week, the five-tool prospect showed why he’s capable of making a quick rise.

Wow moment

Austin Riley showed his tremendous power potential when he hit nearly 900 feet worth of home runs during a March 24 game against the Pirates. Riley cleared the tall batter’s eye wall with a 442-foot shot in the second inning. Two innings later, he hit a 428-foot shot that fell just left of the batter’s eye.

In case you missed it

Freddie Freeman discussed a possible contract extension, the excitement surrounding this year’s team and the sadness that he’s felt while going through Spring Training with his wife and two new sons still in California. Read more >>