The team to beat this postseason is Atlanta, at least according to the Colorado Rockies.
Leading all of baseball with 104 wins and slugging 307 home runs, tied for most in the single season, it isn’t hard to see why Atlanta is a favorite to win their second World Series in three years.
“This is arguably one of the best lineups I’ve ever seen,” Bud Black said in late August when Brian Snitker brought his 26-man roster to Coors Field.
For a baseball lifer like Black to make such a statement after 50 years in the game, that really means something.
Atlanta made a statement offensively all season long, starting with Ronald Acuña Jr. flashing his impressive mix of power and speed rarely seen in the sport’s history. With 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases, the 25-year-old outfielder not only became the fifth ever member of the 40-40 club, but he created a new club in the process (40-70, really?).
"He's been the best player from April through September, both leagues… the most exciting player on the best team in baseball."
Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first member of the 40/70 club last night!!#MLBCentral | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/kxWeSi0RAF
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 28, 2023
Include Matt Olson’s franchise-record 54 home runs along with Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley, and Atlanta is the first team with four players to reach 35 or more homers in the same season. Toss in Ozzie Albies’ 109 RBI and that makes for five players with 95 or more RBI, tied for most in the modern era (since 1901). Altogether, Atlanta’s .501 slugging percentage makes them the first team in MLB history to slug over .500 for a full season.
54 homers in 54 seconds for the 2023 home run king, Matt Olson. 💪 pic.twitter.com/glmOLrM5wU
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2023
Colorado saw that penchant for power first hand, watching more long balls leave the yard against them than any other team outside of the National League East. Those 18 home runs contributed to an 0-7 record against Atlanta, a franchise worst for the Rockies since their inception in 1993 when they finished 0-13 against the then-NL West powerhouse.
Kyle Freeland, who’s also faced the Los Angeles Dodgers every season of his seven-year career, happens to agree with Black.
“That’s probably the best lineup that I’ve ever faced in my career,” he said following his Aug. 30 start. “There’s zero breaks in that lineup. Even when (Sean) Murphy’s on the bench, (Travis) d’Arnaud is in there.”
Sean Murphy launched a home run with a broken bat 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ORX4DUuUec
— Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) September 24, 2023
Atlanta received 32 home runs and 108 RBI out of their catchers in 2023, most in all of the Senior Circuit. Freeland held d’Arnaud to an 0-for-3 performance with a walk and a run batted in during that start at Coors Field, but he allowed three home runs that night to Kevin Pillar, Ozuna and Orlando Arcia, the starting shortstop for the NL in the All-Star Game.
A total of 10 different players hit at least 10 homers with Atlanta, a first for the franchise. Even the ninth spot in the batting order this season produced 20 home runs and 73 RBI with a .785 OPS. By comparison, the Rockies no. 3 hitters posted a .780 OPS.
Pitching is another story for Snitker’s squad. Charlie Morton is off the NL Division Series roster because of a right index finger injury. Kyle Wright, who pitched six shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in NLDS last year, will require a shoulder procedure and is likely to miss all of 2024. Bryce Elder, an All-Star this summer, has a 5.75 ERA since July 9.
Between Max Fried and staff ace Spencer Strider, who struck out 281 in 2023 to pass John Smoltz’s modern-day franchise record, Elder may only need to be competitive for a few innings of his start to get through the five-game series with Philadelphia. With the potential for Morton to return during the NL Championship Series, the only concern for Atlanta may be old news in a week.
Spencer Strider, 2023 Season
🔥 20 wins
🔥 281 strikeouts
🔥 3.86 ERA
🔥 2.85 FIP
🔥 5.5 fWAR pic.twitter.com/MO1E5nazfY— Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) October 1, 2023
“They’re gonna hit. They’re gonna put up runs frequently. They’re gonna be on base frequently,” Freeland said of Atlanta. “And it’s a team that you can’t make mistakes to because when you do they’re definitely the punch you for it.”
DIAMOND DETAILS
Atlanta’s roster for the NLDS includes a pair of Colorado relievers who were shipped south ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. RHP Pierce Johnson (0.76 ERA in 24 games) and LHP Brad Hand (7.50 ERA in 20 games) join OF Kevin Pillar and former farmhand Forrest Wall, traded as part of the package to acquire reliever Seunghwan Oh of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018, as some of the ex-Rockies still alive with ATL.
🚨 KEVIN PILLAR GRAND SLAM 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lE8R4NrzIV
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 5, 2020
On the coaching staff are three others who spent some of their playing careers in Denver: Walt Weiss (1994-97), Eric Young Sr. (1993-97) and Sal Fasano (2001).
