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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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In his first start for the 2014 Atlanta Braves on Friday night, young lefty Mike Minor was confronted with the reality of the 2014 Atlanta Braves.

With Minor doing his part by turning in a solid performance, he provided further evidence that this Braves team has the whole pitching thing down solid.

The whole hitting thing, on the other hand, is a work in progress. And at this point, one is starting to get the sense that’s just how it’s going to be.

Though Minor surrendered only two earned runs—courtesy of solo home runs by Angel Pagan and Mike Morse—in six innings against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, the Braves offense could muster only one run of support. The Braves had their chances, but ultimately left 12 men on base.

That deserves a finger-wagging. But before we get to that, let’s speak positively for a few moments and give credit where it’s due: Though less than perfect, Minor looked pretty good.

After being sidelined through all of April with shoulder inflammation, the 26-year-old gave up seven hits, struck out four and walked none in his six innings. 

That’ll do for a solid debut. And judging from Minor’s fastball velocity, also good is that he wasn’t pitching with diminished stuff.

Per Brooks Baseball, the MLB Advanced Media Gameday data has the average velocity of Minor’s fastball against the Giants at 91.1 miles per hour. That’s down a bit from the 91.23 miles per hour he averaged in 2013, but he began the year averaging just 90.77 in April and 90.79 in May.

In light of those figures, Minor’s velocity is right about where it needs to be. Given how shoulder injuries that sideline guys for a month are no joke, that’s a good sign.

As for Minor’s control, it’s a good look that he threw 55 of his 80 pitches for strikes (68.8 percent). Which, if nothing else, helps explain the zero walks.

Minor’s control wasn’t perfect, though. Take a look at his strike zone plot from Friday, and you’ll see more than a few heaters up in the zone. Two of those hurt, as Minor gave up a leadoff home run to Pagan on a fastball here:

And another home run to Morse in the sixth inning on a fastball that missed here:

That’s what happens when you throw major league hitters fastballs where they can hit ’em.

Still, we’ll cut Minor some slack. It’s not easy to come back after a month on the shelf and be perfect. And even despite those two homers, he did his job by giving the Braves a chance to win the game.

“I thought Mike was outstanding today, especially after the first (inning),” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, via David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Then he added: “But we left a lot of people on, 12 runners on base. We’re getting on base, we’re stealing bases and trying to create some runs that way, but we’re just not getting them in when we have to.”

Yeah…About that. 

Suffice it to say that it’s been a struggle for Atlanta’s offense recently. The Braves came into Friday’s game having scored more than four runs just once in their last 10 games and, according to FanGraphs, just a .266 collective OBP over the last seven days. 

As Gonzalez noted, the Braves at least managed to get some men on base against the Giants, collecting eight hits and drawing five walks. But even after doing that, their full-season numbers still make the retinas burn:

Ugly stuff all the way around, and that it’s happening isn’t the biggest surprise.

The absence of Brian McCann notwithstanding, the Braves offense consists largely of the same players who fed into a team-wide .321 OBP and 22.6 percent strikeout rate (K%, or K/PA) last year. An offense that had holes in it last year has begotten an offense with holes in it this year.

Beyond that, there’s the reality that it’s hard to pick out hitters in the Braves lineup who are good bets to emerge as consistent producers.

There’s no point in placing much faith in either Dan Uggla or B.J. Upton. Neither of them hit a lick in 2013, and both are struggling with OBPs under .300 and strikeout rates over 28 percent.

Evan Gattis has issues, too. He can hit the ball very hard, but his combination of a 3.7 walk rate (BB%, or BB/PA), 23.5 K% and tendency to hit the ball in the air is going to make him an easy out most days.

Andrelton Simmons ought to be less of an easy out by virtue of his ability to make contact, as he’s striking out less than five percent of the time so far. But he also doesn’t walk (2.9 BB%), and he’s going to have a tough time picking up hits with a contact approach that contains relatively few line drives.

Chris Johnson is basically the anti-Simmons in that he hits a ton of line drives. However, he’s yet another Braves hitter with a high K% (25.0) and low BB% (3.8).

Even Justin Upton is worthy of a few worries. He may be slashing an impressive .313/.395/.616, but he also has a whopping 30.7 K%. That’s the highest among Braves regulars, which, considering the particulars, is saying a lot.

This leaves us looking at Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman.

The latter is absolutely the most trust-worthy hitter the Braves have, as Freeman is a line-drive machine who can also take a walk (9.7 BB%) and doesn’t strike out much (17.7 K%). Don’t worry about him. In layman’s terms: He rules.

Heyward, meanwhile, might actually be the second-most trustworthy hitter on the Braves, as he also has a decent walk rate (9.6 BB%) and strikeout rate (21.6 K%) and is finally starting to get some hits to fall. After collecting three hits on Friday, Heyward now has 16 hits in his last 48 at-bats for a .333 average.

That’s two reliable hitters. Three if Upton is able to either get his strikeout problem under control or, as he is now, simply find ways to keep living with it. That’s better than nothing, but it’s not the recipe for a consistent offense.

Point being: The pitching better keep it up.

That, fortunately, isn’t asking too much. Braves starters aren’t going to maintain a 2.42 ERA all season, but a rotation featuring Minor along with Ervin Santana, Julio Teheran and Alex Wood is pretty good. If Aaron Harang can sustain whatever wizardry has helped him become a strikeout machine with a 2.97 ERA, great. If not, David Hale can come back out of the bullpen and take his spot.

As long as the Braves can pitch, they can contend. That’s the bright side.

The not-so-bright side is that the very real lack of stability in the Braves lineup means there are going to be plenty of days when the run support just isn’t there. The margin for error could be about as razor-thin over the next five months as it’s been in the first month.

Friday night was the first time Minor got to experience that slim margin for error. It probably won’t be the last.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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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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As the minor league season begins let’s take a look at the Braves prospect depth at each position. Atlanta uses its minor league system as much as any other major league team. The Braves didn’t open the season with one or two rookies in the bullpen; they opened up with three rookies playing important roles in the bullpen—Gus Schlosser, Ian Thomas and Ryan Buchter. 

On the following slides, I’ll highlight the top prospects around the horn and on the mound. You can expect to see almost all of these players in Atlanta in the near future.

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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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When spring training began, Alex Wood was simply trying to put himself in position to make the Atlanta Braves rotation. With Opening Day on the horizon, the 23-year-old has survived a war of attrition to become a central figure on manager Fredi Gonzalez’s staff.

In Atlanta, pitching has gone from a strength to a major concern.

Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy are gone for the 2014 season, victims of Tommy John surgery and the unpleasant reality of pitching injuries around the sport. Mike Minor is behind schedule due to offseason surgery. 

On the surface, the Braves have two right-handed pitchers—Julio Teheran and Ervin Santana—on board to occupy top slots in the rotation. The former will toe the rubber on Opening Day, and the latter could be ready by April 9, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

When Mike Minor builds his arm strength up, Atlanta will have starters capable of making fans forget about Medlen and Beachy. 

Yet, in order to reprise a role as a postseason contender, the Braves will need more than just three capable starting pitchers. While a five-man staff of high-ceiling arms would be ideal, Atlanta would likely settle for four, especially in the wake of an injury-plagued camp.

In Wood, a potentially excellent fourth starter could emerge. In fact, as of now, MLB Depth Charts has the second-year lefty penciled in as the No. 2 starter on Gonzalez’s staff.

Based on what he’s done this spring (5 GS, 0.45 ERA, 16/2 SO/BB), it’s well deserved. By entering camp with the mindset of making the rotation, Wood has emerged into a key cog for Atlanta. If he can build upon a stellar 2013 rookie campaign, the Braves may unearth a star amiss the loss of stars. 

During his latest spring training tune-up start, the second-year pitcher shut down the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, allowing just one run over six innings. Along the way, he impressed Gonzalez with his stuff and maturity, per David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Wood knows what he’s doing out there on the mound,” Gonzalez said. “He doesn’t give you many good pitches to hit. And they had a pretty good lineup out there. Especially from the right side. So it was a good test for him at this time of the spring. Woody was outstanding.”

Last season, outstanding wasn’t a strong enough adjective to describe the stuff, performance and production from Wood. Across 31 appearances—including 11 starts—Wood threw 77.2 innings and posted an 8.9 SO/9 rate and 124 ERA+. 

Considering his young age, the strikeout rate and adjusted ERA were particularly impressive.

Among all pitchers with at least 10 starts (eliminating true relief pitchers), Wood’s SO/9 mark ranked 19th in baseball last year. Some names below Wood on that list, per Baseball-Reference (subscription required): Clayton Kershaw, Gio Gonzalez, Homer Bailey, Matt Moore and Cole Hamels.

To be fair, Wood’s SO/9 mark was enhanced by bullpen work (9.6 SO/9 across 20 relief outings), but the numbers weren’t drastically different during 11 starts (8.7 SO/9 across 56 innings).

With the ability to generate strikeouts at a high rate, Wood could be emerging into a top-tier starting option in front of Atlanta’s eyes. Considering the rash of injuries that’s overshadowed a team coming off a 96-win season, Wood’s emergence is crucial.

Of course, there’s still an unknown element to Wood’s game and trajectory: the ability to handle a full season as a professional starter.

As a second-round pick in the 2012 draft, Wood simply hasn’t had much time to mature and build up innings in the minors. Before last year’s arrival in the big leagues, Wood made a grand total of 24 starts and pitched 114.2 innings in the minors.

Despite that, the words “innings limit” haven’t been uttered in conjunction with Wood’s 2014 season or progression. Yet, after shifting from starting in the minors to a dual role in the majors last year, expecting a 200-inning season out of Wood is too much to ask. Instead, the Braves can hope for their young lefty to give quality innings while he’s fresh. 

By sporting a 124 ERA+ last season, Wood proved that he could do just that. That mark is similar to three other recent young pitchers who bounced from the bullpen to the rotation during their respective age-22 campaigns. 

No, Cy Young Awards didn’t commence for any of those young, comparable starters. But that doesn‘t mean the Braves would be upset if their pitcher turned out to have a career similar to Pineiro (104 victories) or Escobar (25.0 WAR).

When Wood makes his first start of 2014, the Braves will be counting on him more than anyone in the organization likely envisioned. Luckily, the talented pitcher is healthy and capable of pitching at a high level for a team trying to emerge from a crowded NL wild card race.

It’s unfair to say that the 2014 Braves will go as far as Alex Wood takes them. For a team with talented everyday players like Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, the pressure to perform at a high level falls on different shoulders. In the rotation, Ervin Santana is viewed as the savior, not Wood.

Yet, a big season for Wood could make up for the losses of more-heralded arms. Atlanta’s No. 2 starter may not be a household name, but he could become one quickly if the Braves find a way to crack the 90-win plateau this season.

Agree? Disagree?

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball.

Statistics are from Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster projections via MLB Depth Charts.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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 have come a long way since their humble beginnings as the Boston Red Stockings. They’ve seen cities, stadiums, owners, players and even team names come and go through a revolving door. The Braves have had high points, like winning the World Series, and low points, like devastating playoff losses and seasons with few highlights.

Since the announcement that the Braves will be moving to Cobb in 2017, we’ve learned what the future of the team appears to be. But let’s take a quick look back and see how they ended up at Turner Field and the history they’ll always carry with them.

It all started in 1871 when Ivers Whitney Adams and Harry Wright incorporated the Boston Red Stockings with $15,000. They became one of nine charter members of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. They won six of the first eight pennants in all of baseball history, setting the tone for the future of the franchise.

The National League started in 1876. On April 22, the Boston Red Stockings defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the first ever National League game. It ended with two runs in the ninth inning and a final score of 6-5.

In 1883, the team changed names to form stronger ties with Boston. The new name, Boston Beaneaters, also made it easier to differentiate themselves from the Cincinnati Red Stockings. This same year, the Beaneaters, once again, won the NL pennant.

Between 1884 and 1906, the team had their ups and downs. Most notably, Mike “King” Kelly, the most famous player of the time, earned a $10,000 paycheck. This whooping sum of money shocked baseball fans all around the country.

In 1907, the Beaneaters changed names to reflect the change in ownership. The new owners, the Dovey brothers, decide on the intimidating name of the Boston Doves.

After the passing of one of the Dovey brothers, the team was sold to William Hepburn Russell, who changed the team name to the Boston Rustlers in 1909.

Just a few years later, in 1912, the team earned the nickname the Boston Braves, a name that stuck around for some time. It was coined by Johnny Montgomery Ward, also known as Monte Ward, former professional baseball player and, at the time, part owner of the Boston Braves.

The ‘Miracle’ Braves won the World Series in 1914 after starting the season 4-18. They swept Philadelphia in four games to take home the crown. It’s a story that gives hope to fans who doubt their team at the start of a rocky season.

Between 1915 and 1935, the team switched ownership a couple of times. In 1915 it was for the steep price of $500,000. That won’t get you one veteran player for half of a season anymore. Babe Ruth also finished his career with the Braves during this time. He hit his 714th home run but held only a .181 batting average in his final season.

In 1936, the Braves fans decided to change the name to the Bees and their stadium was referred to as the “Beehive.” Thankfully, this name only stuck around for five years and fans haven’t felt the need to press management to change it back ever since.

1953 was a year of big changes for the Braves. They moved to Milwaukee because of a declining fan base in Boston, and Braves owner, Lou Perini, had promised to help Milwaukee find a baseball team. It certainly didn’t hurt that the Braves’ highest ranked minor league team was also in the area. The following season, the Braves tried their luck on a rookie named Hank Aaron and never looked back.

A few seasons later, the Braves, with the help of Aaron, Wes Covington and Bob Hazle, beat the Yankees in the 1957 World Series. The Braves find eight more successful seasons, including another World Series appearance in 1958 and multiple pennants, in Milwaukee before heading to Atlanta.

The move was largely due to the lack in fan support. In 1961, there were just over one million tickets sold for the season. Not the turnout the Braves front office expected for the team with three solid playoff performances in a row.

While the Braves were looking for a new city to call home, Atlanta offered to pay $18 million for a new stadium. The city was growing quickly and wanted to put themselves on the map as one of the country’s largest. The Braves took little convincing to pack their bags and head down south.

The move to Atlanta wasn’t nearly as simple as the move from Boston. Wisconsin didn’t want to see the team leave. The city of Milwaukee filed injunctions and court orders to keep the team from leaving. As we all know, the team eventually made it out of Milwaukee and onto their new home in Atlanta, where they were welcomed with a parade in 1966.

Because there weren’t any other major league teams in the surrounding area, the Braves acquired fans from far and near. Atlanta baseball was televised on TBS and quickly became the beloved home team for much of the southeast. They were known as “America’s Team” and wore new red, white and blue uniforms to reflect the nickname.

The Atlanta Braves, unfortunately, lost their first home game in Atlanta Stadium to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The stadium later became known as Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which was the home of many great memories for the Braves. Their years included Aaron breaking the home run record, hosting an All-Star game and Ted Turner purchasing the team in 1975.

Ted Turner owned the Atlanta Braves and decided to become the team manager during a 17-game losing streak. After just one game, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn told Turner he couldn’t own stock in a team if he managed it.

Although managing may not be one of things Turner brought the Braves, he helped the team win 18 consecutive pennant races and became the namesake of their new home following the Olympics in 1996, Turner Field.

Turner Field has housed Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and now the young stars Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward. Many more notable names could be included but the list would be never ending.

While a chapter in Braves history may be coming to a close in the next few years, the name on their ball caps and jerseys won’t let the fans forget where they came from.

Historical facts courtesy of braves.com, The Washington Times and SB Nation.

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