The Braves have attempted to add stability to their rotation with Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia. But optimism for the next season extends beyond what these three veterans can offer as short-term bridges toward the wealth of high-quality pitching prospects making their way toward Atlanta. The Braves' hopes to produce a winning record are equally entrenched in what transpired over the course of 2016.
Freeman produced a 103 Weighted Runs Created Plus mark (100 denotes league average) during the Braves' first 64 games -- and an eye-popping 184 WRC+ as his team went 50-47 to close the season.