ESPN recently went through all 30 MLB teams and gave them a grade for their first month of the season. Understandably, they weren’t full of praise for the Braves’ lackadaisical start, giving them a C-. Here’s what they had to say:
Playoff odds: 71.8%, down 13.8%. It’s been a bit of a sluggish start, as often happens with reigning World Series champions, but Ronald Acuna Jr.’s quicker-than-expected return from ACL surgery could jump-start the team in May.
I’m not sure how the machines crunch up the numbers to create playoff odds, but it’s definitely an imperfect system because there is no way the Braves only have a 71.8% chance of making the postseason. That number should still be around 90. I don’t care if they are off to an 11-13 start.
For their best storyline, they praised Kyle Wright, who is red-hot to begin the season. I wrote about him just the other day, and everything points to Wright having a monster 2022. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was mentioned in the NL Cy Young race at the end of the season.
For the Braves “Mulligan,” they pegged Eddie Rosario, which I can’t argue with. Although, rather than blaming last year’s NLCS MVP, who has clearly been hampered by an eye problem, I think the Braves would like to re-think letting Joc Pederson walk, who is thriving on a one-year deal in San Francisco.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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