Atlanta Braves: 2015 End of Season Player Grades

Freddie Freeman

For the first time in his career, Freddie dealt with injuries. His wrist acted up throughout the season and he finally relinquished his hold on the most innings played in baseball since the start of 2014. The big lefty found himself largely without protection for much of the season and struggled to find people to drive in. Freddie hit .276/.370/.471/.841 with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs in 118 games. While the 18 dingers is a low for him, the 162 game pace puts him at about 24-25, which would actually be on the high side. It’s difficult to find any fault with Freddie’s play this last year, and he was clearly physically limited, as well as challenged by the lineup around him. Had anybody else on the squad had the year Freddie did, we would be thrilled, but we have come to expect more out of the slugger. He was still second on the club in season WAR, despite significant time missed. The defensive metrics still do not like Freddie Freeman, and they have yet to rate him as even an average defender in his career. Braves broadcasters and many Braves fans repeat the narrative that Freddie is a good defender, and that is somewhat true. He can pick throws at first and he has a good arm when necessary, but his range is nonexistent. His value still exists almost exclusively with his bat. The Atlanta Braves will make it a point to not leave Freddie so alone in the lineup going forward, hopefully adding production around him.

I can’t really say Freddie had a bad year. Given his history it’s hard to even say if this was a down year as we are still not sure who the real Freddie Freeman is; the 2013 version that hit .319 and made a run at the batting title, or the one we’ve seen recently. Considering the situation and the challenges during the season, Freddie deserves the benefit of the doubt. I’m going to give him a B. I have a sneaking suspicion he will rebound next year and probably approach .300 again with more games played.

Final Grade: B

Next: The Vacuum