Kuzul

The Atlanta Braves will look to bolster their farm system and find future help at the MLB level in a few weeks when the 2014 MLB draft gets underway.

The Braves could go a number of different directions with the No. 32 overall pick in the compensation round acquired from the Brian McCann deal.

Last year, the Braves selected Jason Hursh (No. 31 overall), a right-hander out of Oklahoma State University. Hursh got an invite to this year’s spring training and is currently pitching for Double-A Mississippi, where he sports a 3-3 record and 3.45 ERA.

Will the Braves go the college route or select a high school standout? Will the Braves target a positional player or another pitcher?

In the last five years, the Braves have selected four pitchers (Hursh, Lucas Sims, Sean Gilmartin, Mike Minor) to just one positional player (Matt Lipka). Of those five picks, three were out of college and one was from Georgia— a place the Braves have picked apart.

With that in mind, here’s a look at potential targets for the Braves to take in the first round of the June 5 2014 MLB draft.

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The Atlanta Braves encountered ups and downs over the first month of the season and have now seen their division lead disappear in the National League East.

The Braves didn’t finish the month how they’d hoped, as they were swept by both the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants.

The current seven-game losing streak is the longest slide for the team since an eight-game skid in 2012.

Despite the recent rough patch, the Braves will find their groove on offense again.

As the Braves look to get back on track, let’s take a look back at the first month of the 2014 MLB season. Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the first month of the Atlanta Braves.

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The first month of the 2014 MLB season is just about to wrap up.

For the Atlanta Braves (17-7), it’s the second season in a row they’ve jumped out to an early-season lead in the division thanks to a hot April. The Braves hold a 3.5-game lead over the New York Mets, which is the same as their lead over the Washington Nationals this time a year ago.

There’s not a whole lot for Braves fans to complain about with this team right now.

We have seen some poor individual performances to begin the season, but the results have still been positive from the team’s standpoint.

With that said, let’s take a look back at the first month of the season and highlight the team’s winners and losers.

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The first week of the 2014 MLB season is in the books, with the Atlanta Braves (4-2) taking two of three in both series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals.

We can often take too much away from the first week of the season and fail to let the entire 162-game schedule play out before jumping to conclusions.

For the Braves, it was a successful week, but it was by no means perfect.

The pitching staff carried the team the first week, as starters led the MLB with a 1.63 ERA and relievers ranked third with a 1.35 ERA.

From the offensive standpoint, the Braves got off to a slow start, as they rank in the last 10 of team batting average (.221), on-base percentage (.271) and runs scored (15).

It was a tough week for many individuals in the Braves’ starting lineup.

Let’s play patience or panic with the five Braves who slumped in week one.

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Baseball is back, and that’s a reason to be excited in itself. 

The Braves didn’t get off to the start they were hoping for with a 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day on Monday afternoon.

Despite that loss, there is plenty of reason to be excited about the 2014 season if you are a Braves fan.

The team returns a young and talented core that won the National League East last season.

On paper, this team should once again compete for a division title with the opportunity to advance in the postseason.

Here’s an optimistic view on the Braves upcoming 2014 season.

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The Atlanta Braves entered the 2014 spring training with their starting lineup set and the majority of their rotation in place.

Due to injuries, the starting rotation looks almost undoubtedly to be Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, David Hale and Freddy Garcia, with Ervin Santana set to join after the first week.

The key positional battles involve the final bench spot and a couple slots in the bullpen.

Here are the list of positional players who will likely begin on the 25-man roster: B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Jordan Schafer, Ryan Doumit, Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla, Ramiro Pena, Andrelton Simmons, Chris Johnson, Evan Gattis and Gerald Laird.

Here are the likely players to start in the bullpen on Opening Day: Craig Kimbrel, Luis Avilan, David Carpenter, Jordan Walden and Anthony Varvaro.

I see the Braves filling the final two bullpen spots with one right-hander and one left-hander.

With that in mind, here’s one man’s prediction on the final three roster spots for Opening Day.

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Atlanta Braves fans have seen a little bit of everything this spring training, including season-ending injuries and free-agent signings. The season-ending injuries are never a wanted sight at this time of year, and they have forced the Braves to fill some holes.

Meanwhile, the players in camp are preparing for a fast-approaching Opening Day. Like any team, the Braves have had some pleasant surprises with elevated play. Unfortunately, the flip side of that coin is that the team has also had some flops this spring training. 

Whether those elevated performances or struggles translate to the season or not remains to be seen. Until then, here’s an updated look at the Braves’ surprises, busts and injuries to this point in spring training.

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The Atlanta Braves begin spring training games three weeks from Wednesday.

At this time last year, Evan Gattis was a non-roster invitee in spring training who made his way onto the 25-man roster on Opening Day.

Other non-roster invitees who made it to Atlanta at some point during the season included Todd Cunningham, Joey Terdoslavich and Alex Wood.

While the odds are stacked against these players, they undoubtedly have an opportunity to make strides toward the MLB level.

You can find the entire list of the Braves’ non-roster invitees here, as this will take a look at just five of those players and their chances to make the Opening Day roster.

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Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks for the Atlanta Braves, marking the fast-approaching 2014 season.

This offers the first glimpse at how the players look after the offseason, although many of them will say “they are in the best shape of their lives.”

Still, fans and media get a chance to see how the players look and it generally adds to the excitement for the upcoming season.

The Braves didn’t overhaul their roster after winning the National League East in 2013.

Therefore, many of the scouting reports will be familiar to Braves fans, but there are some new faces on this year’s team.

Here’s a look at scouting reports and projections for pitchers and catchers for the Atlanta Braves’ 2014 season.

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The offseason is hitting the home stretch as pitchers and catchers report in 24 days for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves still have some salaries to get worked out as Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward and Craig Kimbrel could not agree to deals.

This will likely go to an arbitration hearing which will take place some point between Feb. 1-21.

Those players could become winners or losers depending on the results of their arbitration hearings.

As we wait to find out the results of those hearings, let’s take a look at some of the other biggest winners and losers of the offseason for the Atlanta Braves.

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