Braves: Losers through one week of Spring Training

I recently came up with a list of the Braves standouts through the first week of Spring Training games. However, there have also been several losers. I always say take Spring Training results with a grain of salt. A lot of these guys are focusing on specific aspects of their game, which can skew results, but here are the players that haven’t looked so hot early in Spring Training.

For this article, I’ll only be focusing on guys who actually have a chance of making the roster. 

Eddie Rosario

The good news is Rosario says he feels much better about his vision coming into Spring Training this year. That’s enough to make me feel confident, but the results haven’t been great thus far, going 1-for-8 at the plate and making some miscues in the outfield. Although, the sun could be to blame for most of the issues he’s experienced defensively. It’s a minuscule sample size, so it’s far too early to be worried about Rosario.

Marcell Ozuna

Much to the chagrin of Braves fans, Brian Snitker came out yesterday and said Marcell Ozuna will 100% be on the Opening Day roster. I always assumed that he probably would be, but I did think an abysmal Spring Training could result in his release. That door is now closed. The Braves need Ozuna to have a bounce back season if they want to accomplish their ultimate goal, but he’s looked piss poor so far in Spring Training, going 1-for-9 with four strikeouts. It’s early, so I’m not going to panic, but a lot of the same issues at the plate he experienced last year are already flashing, and it’s only been nine at-bats.

Ian Anderson

Anderson is a player everyone will have their eye on this Spring, and his first outing couldn’t have gone any worse. He gave up two walks and two home runs in his first inning of work. It’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever return to the form we saw a couple of years ago, but I’m not going to freak out over his first start of Spring Training.

Bryce Elder

Elder is another pitcher competing for the final spot in the rotation, and like Anderson, he surrendered four earned runs in his first inning of work. In fact, he let four guys cross the plate before he even recorded an out. However, of the four players on this list, Elder is the one I’m least concerned about.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire