We know the Braves are going to be a part of this year’s playoff mix. The question remains where they’ll be seeded.

If Atlanta can take care of business inside their own division, the lowest they can be seeded is third. There’s still an outside chance of them sneaking into the top two spots in the National League and earning a first-round bye, but the Dodgers and Brewers have a pretty firm stranglehold on those spots for now, with the Braves 4.5 games behind Milwaukee and 3.0 games behind Los Angeles.

With three weeks remaining before the postseason, it’s time for the first edition of predicting the Braves’ playoff roster, which I will do weekly leading up to October.

Predicting The Braves’ Playoff Roster

Starting Pitchers

1. Chris Sale
2. Tyler Mahle
3. Grant Holmes
4. Reynaldo Lopez
5. AJ Smith-Shawver

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I’m doing this now with the assumption that the Braves will be in a three-game Wild Card series. So, there is obviously no need for five starting pitchers. Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle will pitch the first two games, and in the event of a winner-take-all Game 3, it will be an all-hands-on-deck approach. I imagine Grant Holmes would get the ball to start that game, but Lopez and Smith-Shawver have enough upside to make this roster as potential relief options.

Bullpen

1. Raisel Iglesias
2. Robert Suarez
3. Didier Fuentes
4. Dylan Lee
5. Brent Suter
6. Dylan Dodd
7. Victor Mederos
8. Ray Kerr

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The big assumption here is that Robert Suarez returns from injury in time to be added to the playoff roster. Based on all of the reports, it looks like that is going to happen unless there is a setback.

After that, most of these decisions feel cut and dried. The Braves could go with Martin Perez over Ray Kerr, Lopez, or Smith-Shawver. They might prefer a veteran over any of those guys, but I omitted him for the time being. If this were a five-game series, Perez would have been included.

Catchers

1. Sean Murphy
2. Drake Baldwin

Infielders

1. Ozzie Albies
2. Matt Olson
3. Austin Riley
4. Mauricio Dubon
5. Ha-Seong Kim

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The only question here is Ha-Seong Kim. He had a couple of moments over the last couple of weeks but has quickly come down to earth in a big way. I would have considered leaving him off, but I just don’t think there are any better options, and he’s already proven he can come up with big hits in a pinch.

Designated Hitter

1. Dominic Smith

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This is another instance where Smith hasn’t really done much to make the roster. He’s appeared in just one game this month, going 0-for-2 with a walk against the Phillies. However, I would love to see someone show me a better option.

Outfielders

1. Ronald Acuña Jr.
2. Lane Thomas
3. Mike Yastrzemski
4. Michael Harris II
5. Brewer Hicklen

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The top four here are obviously locks, and I think Brewer Hicklen is as well. He hasn’t played a ton this season, only 12 games. But in those 12 games, he’s hitting .364 with an OPS over 1.000. He also offers value as a pinch-runner, which is an underrated aspect of putting together a playoff roster.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)