By Ben Hargrove
The Atlanta Braves have the biggest lead of any division
leader and they’ve done it with three of their main hitters unable to cross the
Mendoza Line for much of the season. On June 10, B.J. Upton was hitting .158,
Dan Uggla was hitting .193 and Jason Heyward was at .200 exactly, the first
time since April 3 he had gotten his batting average out of the .100s. As of
press time, Upton was hitting .178, Uggla .203, and Heyward .227, not exactly
great numbers for those who play weekly fantasy baseball.
The Braves success this season stems from their 3.20 staff
ERA, an earned run average that is currently second in the majors. But they are
also 13th in runs despite being 22th in batting average,
thanks to their 99 homers, which is fourth in the majors.
Even if the Braves were not having so much success despite
their low batting averages, contract considerations would likely keep Uggla and
Upton in the lineup. They are the two highest-paid Braves, with Upton making
$75 million for five years and Uggla getting $62 million for five years. (B.J. Upton’s brother Justin has a six-year,
$50 million deal.)
Uggla is still a
slugger
Uggla at least is hitting homers. He has 13, second-best
among second basemen behind the Yankees’ Robinson Cano. Uggla, hit 30 homers
for five straight seasons from 2007 to 2011 before hitting 19 last year.
But Uggla has also hit for a poor average since coming to
Atlanta -.233 in 2011 and .220 in 2012. In his five seasons with the Marlins,
Uggla hit below .250 twice.
Upton showing some
signs of life
B.J. Upton has not hit above .250 since 2008 and he has at
least 150 strikeouts in five of the last six seasons. But Upton also has five straight seasons of
30 or more steals and has averaged 23 homers per year over the last three
seasons. This season, Upton has just six
steals along with four caught stealing. He has eight homers.
Upton has shown signs of life in June, hitting .244 with four
homers and 11 RBI in the month. He has 15
walks along with 21 strikeouts after fanning 63 times with 16 walks in April
and May.
Heyward’s power
numbers are still poor
Heyward has also looked better in June, hitting .308 for the
month after entering the month at .146. Heyward was hitting just .121 in April
when he underwent an appendectomy and was out almost a month. After he returned
in mid-May, Heyward hit .178 for the rest of May. Heyward’s career April batting average is.231
and his May mark is .225, but his marks for the next three months are all .270
or above. But after hitting 27 homers with 21 steals in 2012, Heyward has just
six homers and one steal this season.
Ben Hargrove writes on a variety of season-long, daily and weekly fantasy baseball
topics for DraftStreet.
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