Revamped lineup gives Braves plenty of hope for ’17
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — After two dismal seasons, there’s hope for the Atlanta Braves. It starts with offense. A lineup that was downright embarrassing at the beginning of last season looks a whole lot more imposing, bolstered by slugger Matt Kemp, top prospect Danby Swanson and threetime All-Star Brandon Phillips. “It’s going to be an exciting year for us,” said Freddie Freeman, another key part of the batting order. That’s a far cry from last April, when the Braves start- ed 0-9 and were held to fewer than four runs in 13 of their first 23 contests. During that inept display, they went 15 games without a homer — the big leagues’ longest power drought in a quarter-century. The Braves began to turn things around when they acquired Kemp from the San Diego Padres just ahead of the trade deadline, a move that essentially came down to taking on a contract that pays the outfielder $21.5 million annually through 2019. In 56 games with the Braves, Kemp contributed 12 homers and 39 RBIs to finish with 35 homers and 108 RBIs overall. More importantly, the presence of a big right-handed bat in the middle of the battle order had a huge impact on those around him — especially Freeman. With Kemp batting behind him, the lefty hitting first baseman saw a lot more good pitches. Freeman put together a 30game hitting streak — longest in the big leagues last season. How important is Kemp? The Braves averaged nearly 5.2 runs per game with him, compared to 3.4 before the trade. “It was the first move that you could just see that we’re trying to win,” Freeman said.