The Braves have a laundry list of players in the Hall of Fame. Names like Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, and most recently, Fred McGriff are some of the most notable, but the club will surely send a current player or two to Cooperstown. Mike Petriello of MLB.com looked at current players bound for the Hall of Fame, and it’s no surprise several current and former Braves appear on the list.
Tier 3: The over-30 hitters on the right path
Freddie Freeman (50 WAR)
Tier 7: How do we evaluate relievers?
Kenley Jansen (22 WAR)
Craig Kimbrel (20 WAR)Tier 12: The young legends in the making
Ronald Acuña Jr. (18 WAR)
Freddie Freeman is well on his way to the Hall of Fame. After debuting in Atlanta more than a decade ago, the California native has a career .895 OPS with 292 home runs, six All-Star appearances, a World Series ring, and an MVP award. It’s a shame his career didn’t end with the Braves, but he’s on pace to finish with a Hall of Fame career.
Kenley Jansen is the Dodgers franchise leader in saves, and even though he only spent one season with the Braves, it’s still on his resume. Craig Kimbrel cut his teeth in Atlanta, winning the 2010 Rookie of the Year award, beating out former teammate Freddie Freeman.
Ronald Acuna Jr. was on a historic pace during the 2021 season before tearing his ACL. The Venezuelan superstar had a .990 OPS, 52 RBIs, and 24 home runs in about half a season. He flirted with 40 bombs and 40 stolen bags in 2019. Before the injury, Acuna’s average OPS was .925 per season. When healthy, he’s arguably the most exciting player in baseball.
Petriello also left a 13th tier, ‘the next wave’ for the youngest players, which includes Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider. Harris took home the Rookie of the Year award, but Strider wins it in any other year. The hard-throwing righty broke Randy Johnson‘s record for the fastest pitcher to 200 strikeouts as a rookie. He struck out nearly a third of the batters he faced and was quite possibly the best pitcher in baseball when he joined the Braves rotation. And if you can believe it, Harris was even better. If both continue down similar career trajectories, they very well could end up in Cooperstown.
—
Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.