With their rebuilding effort paying off sooner than anticipated, the Atlanta Braves clinched their first National League East title since 2013 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday.
MLBNL East, you’ve been chopped. The @Braves have #CLINCHED the division. https://t.co/osameRp6lr
This will be Atlanta's first trip to the postseason since 2013, which was also the last time the franchise posted a winning record.
The past four seasons of player development at the MLB level and in the minors paid off huge for the Braves in 2018.
Coming into the year, Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system (h/t Talking Chop's Kris Willis) had the Braves pegged as a 76-86 team.