Dodgers: The Braves are Dangerous and Cannot be Overlooked

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 2: Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves hits a first inning solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at SunTrust Park on September 2, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 2: Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves hits a first inning solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at SunTrust Park on September 2, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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The Dodgers are entering the NLDS as heavy favorites, but the Atlanta Braves are a dangerous team that cannot be overlooked.

The Dodgers enter the National League Division series as a team that is expected to roll past the young and inexperienced Atlanta Braves.  The Braves have been rebuilding and have quite the collection of young talent but their time is not supposed to be for a few more seasons.  That doesn’t mean the Dodgers will have an easy series at all.

The Dodgers may be as playoff tested as any team in the National League but even though they hold a considerable playoff experience advantage over the Braves, all bets are off for the NLDS.  The Braves won 90 games this season shocking the league and taking the NL East throne from the Nationals who were supposed to cruise in a mediocre division.

The Braves have some of the best young talent in baseball that starts with this year’s eventual rookie of the year award winner in Ronald Acuna.  In only 111 games, the twenty-year-old hit .293 with 26 home runs.  The Braves also have twenty-one-year-old Ozzie Albies who is another young slugger with 21 home runs this season.

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To compliment their young sluggers, the Braves also have Freddie Freeman who is still young at twenty-nine years-old but on a young Braves team, he is one of their veterans.  It’s not too long ago that Freeman himself was a young superstar.  Nick Markakis also compliments the young Braves lineup and had another solid season hitting nearly .300 with 14 home runs.

The Braves young talent doesn’t just stop with their lineup, in game one the Braves will send Mike Foltynewicz to the mound who has won thirteen games this season with an impressive 2.85 ERA.  Foltynewicz averages 96 miles per hour on his fastball and has the type of electric stuff that plays up in the postseason.

The Braves also have the young lefty Sean Newcomb who came within an out of no-hitting the Dodgers back in July.  Outside of Newcomb and Foltynewicz, the Braves have a mix of veteran starters in Julio Teheran, Kevin Gausman, and former Marlin ace Anibal Sanchez.  Each of the Braves’ prospective playoff starters finished the regular season with an ERA under four which is an impressive feat.

Next. The Dodgers playoff rotation is as good as any in the NL. dark

The Dodgers finished their regularly scheduled 162 games with 91 wins this season.  The Braves were just as good winning 90 games in a season where they were not expected to contend just yet.  The Dodgers showed in September that they are able to beat anyone and also lose to anyone as they won their big games against the Rockies and Cardinals, but lost two big series to the Mets and Reds.  The Braves are a dangerous young team that the Dodgers cannot look past.