After an injury plagued start to a career, a healthy Dansby Swanson appears to be the Braves super star everyone has hoped for. In his first two full season in the show, Dansby hit only .235 with an average of 9 home runs, 55 RBI’s, and a .699 OPS. These numbers are sub par for the former first overall selection out of Vanderbilt who was projected as a .280 hitter at the big league level. Some long time hopefuls of his began to doubt his future in Atlanta.

That is until right about now. This year although seems to be the breakout season for the Georgia native. Through 11 games, Swanson is hitting .324 with 4 home runs, 15 RBI’s, and a 1.184 OPS. He leads the Braves in RBI’s and home runs thus far and is most definitely suring up to be the team’s MVP. His hot streak no doubt has propelled the Braves to 7 wins of their last 8 games.

The Braves as a unit are a more mature, and quite frankly more talented group, than they were in 2018 despite winning the NL East. Max Fried has been unstoppable on the mound for Atlanta with a 0.00 ERA in two starts and 13.2 innings pitched. The addition of Josh Donaldson has not quite paid off yet but the potential is there for the veteran superstar on the hot corner. You can pretty much scratch in Freddie Freeman for a .300 batting average season who has 35 home run power potential. The defensive prowess of Swanson and Albies up the middle paired with Ender Inciarte in center will rob batters of countless hits throughout the season. Ozzie is also off to a hot start and his top of the order bat combined with elite speed should wreak havoc on the base paths for opposing teams. In right field, Nick Markakis is coming off his first all star selection despite having a solid career under his belt as he looks to continue a great offensive bout. In left field, the Braves return last years Rookie of the Year in Ronald Acuna who slashed .293 with 26 home runs in 111 games during that time (on pace for 38 home runs for 162 games). His elite bat is also coupled with elite speed with 30 bag potential for the young phenom. This team is only going to get better with experience. Right now, their pitching staff seems a little weak for World Series contenders, but their bats and defense have a great potential to take this young crop deep into the playoffs.