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Atlanta Braves: Opening Day Preview

By Kit Anderson

Mar 31, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) rounds second on a home run against the New York Yankees in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) rounds second on a home run against the New York Yankees in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Opening Day is here for the Atlanta Braves and with it newfound hope and expectations headed into the first game.

While a new season always seems to have a certain amount of optimism surrounding it the Braves seem optimistic about improving in the 2017 season. With added veteran talent and a lot of young players hoping for breakout seasons the Braves 2017 season should be a step in the right direction.

Their season will start Monday afternoon against the Mets on national TV with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 on ESPN. The Mets flame throwing ace Noah Syndergaard will start their first game with Julio Teheran going to the mound for the Braves.

Both players are good pitchers though Syndergaard is no doubt the flashier of the two. Teheran is a good pitcher though that is more than capable of matching “Thor” pitch for pitch if he has his best stuff on Monday afternoon.

The Braves lineup is improved as well and is likely to go as follows barring any unexpected changes or injuries.

1. Ender Inciarte-CF 

2. Dansby Swanson-SS 

3. Freddie Freeman-1ST 

4. Matt Kemp-LF 

5.Nick Markakis-RF 

6.Brandon Phillips-2nd 

7.Adonis Garcia-3rd 

8.Tyler Flowers-C 

9. Julio Teheran-P 

While the Braves lineup may not be the best in the league it is a vast improvement on last season and is more than capable of putting up a lot of runs this season. For the final two months of last season the Braves were impressive offensively and with the addition of Phillips should only get better this season.

The Mets are a team that will be looking to do the opposite of the Braves and lean on their young talented pitching rotation to keep them in the postseason race. They are a team that were knocked out of the race last year based on injuries to their impressive rotation. When healthy the Mets could challenge for the deepest rotation in baseball.

Next: Braves Previewing the lineup

If the Braves are going to start out the season on the right foot they are going to have to take advantage of any mistakes that Gaard does make and stay close until getting into the Mets bullpen.

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