The Braves' upper management contemplated trading David Justice prior to the season and are certainly glad they had a change of heart. Justice is having a MVP season, batting .310 with 26 HR & 88 RBI with a 1.020 OPS through 86 games -- while on pace for 48 HR & 162 RBI this season.
Fred McGriff has always been a talented player, but he has been gold for the Braves. Last season, he batted .344 with 48 HR, while leading the National League with 224 hits & 142 RBI... this season, he is batting .308 with 28 HR & 73 RBI with a .992 OPS. His 6-year, $25.2 million deal ($4.2 m/per year) is proving to be a good one, he does have the option to opt out after the 1996 season.
Both Steve Avery and Roberto Hernandez have returned from the disabled list, as Avery continued where he left off, while Hernandez unfortunately lost his closing position to a red-hot Mark Wohlers; Hernandez continues to do solid relief as the 8th Inning setup man in the meantime.
Ryan Klesko (.307, 19 HR & 67 RBI) has arrived ahead of schedule, stealing time from Ron Gant, who started the season on the disabled list; Gant struggled with righties early that he now only starts against southpaws.
The Braves acquired starting pitcher Alan Benes from the Seattle Mariners to help fill in for the injured Avery & now serves as the 5th starter in the rotation; Benes is a combined 8-3 with a 4.67 ERA between the two ballclubs,
One of the other big Braves moves came prior to the season when they signed their leadoff man/CF- Tony Phillips to a 3 yr / $7.8 million deal ($2.6 m/per year). Phillips is currently batting .298 with 16 HR & 47 RBI, while he has 87 runs to go along with his .939 OPS.
The Braves currently have a 16-game lead over the 2nd Place Houston Astros, and are looking to avenge their previous playoff woes.
No comments:
Post a Comment