ATLANTA — After the Braves won last year’s World Series after failing to set a winning record as of August, the Braves won’t be too concerned about preseason results. But as they opened the 2022 season by splitting a four-game series against the Reds, they got a better sense of how those next few weeks could play out.
After bouncing back from Thursday’s opening day loss with back-to-back wins, the Braves watched as Ian Anderson struggled in Sunday afternoon’s 6-3 loss at Truist Park. Matt Olson’s first home run for Atlanta wasn’t enough to ruin the impressive debut of Cincinnati’s announced youngster Hunter Greene. But it capped a memorable first series for the Braves’ new first baseman.
“I think there were a lot of positive things to build on,” said manager Brian Snitker. “There are a lot of people that we weren’t really familiar with, but we’re becoming a lot more familiar with them. I think a lot of good things happened this weekend.”
Here are some things that Braves fans may and may not have liked about the first series.
Smooth arrival
It didn’t take Olson long to prove that the pressure to replace Freddie Freeman and play for his hometown team wouldn’t bother him. The Atlanta native went 8-on-14 with two doubles and a homer through his first four games. In doing so, he showed why the Braves were willing to part with some top prospects in order to win him in a trade with the A’s.
Olson’s first home run was a solo shot in the fifth inning against Greene’s 101-mile fastball. The liner over the midfield wall was only the third homer hit by a Braves player against a pitch thrown at 100 mph or harder from 2008, according to Statcast. The others were hit by Eddie Rosario against the Dodgers’ Brusdar Graterol on September 1, 2021 and by Chipper Jones against Joel Zumaya on June 26, 2010.
“It feels good,” Olson said. “You want good bats and barrels. Doing it against high speed is always a good sign.”
Five of the 11 balls Olson put in play had an exit speed of 105 mph or more. Really, the only thing he might want to take away from his opening weekend would have been being thrown on the plate twice on Saturday.
“If someone wrote in the Oakland scouting report that I was fast, they lied,” Olson said.
Anderson’s speed
Because Anderson hit five walks and five runs with three hits in just 2 2/3 innings, his four-seam fastball averaged just 93.2 mph. The average dropped to 92.9 mph with the 10 fastballs he threw during the third inning. Anderson averaged 94.6 mph on this pitch last year and 94.1 mph in 2020.
“I feel like I’m still trying to get everything together and get my delivery together,” Anderson said.
Perhaps Anderson’s Velo drop is just a preseason product of a brief spring workout. But that’s not an encouraging development for a man leaning heavily on his change. There was a difference of just 5.7 mph between his fastball’s average speed (93.2) and Changeup’s (87.6). In the past two years, the difference has been closer to 7-8 mph. But the 23-year-old hurler believes his greatest need is to remain patient while gaining more consistent control of the fastball and transition.
“You have to establish fastball and you have to establish other playing fields,” Anderson said. “I don’t think I did that very well. Somehow that led to a shortage [the Reds chasing the changeup].”
rotational potential
Charlie Morton looked like an ace on his first start since breaking his leg and Kyle Wright looked like a brand new man on Saturday’s strong start. Yes, Anderson and Max Fried tripped. But each of the eight hits Fried allowed Thursday was a single one and four of them had an exit speed of 69.2 mph or less. As Wright builds on his success and Anderson gets better over the next few weeks, the champions should have no reason to worry about their rotation.
Starts slowly
Rosario and Ozzie Albies will share managerial responsibilities until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns in May. They combined to go 2-for-26 with five walks during that first series. Dansby Swanson struck in eight of his first 12 at-bats.
rocket fire
It might be time to stop thinking about Spencer Strider as a starter, a role that really would have only allowed him to develop secondary pitches. Strider seemed poised to be a primary setup man as he beat five of the six batsmen he faced in two perfect innings on opening day.
Strider averaged 99.3 mph on 18 fastballs and the Reds blasted at that fastball with seven of 11 swings. The young hurler transitioned from low-A-ball to the majors during his only full pro season. He now appears poised to be the right-hander the Braves need in a bullpen staffed by a trio of left-handers – Will Smith, Tyler Matzek and AJ Minter.