The Atlanta Braves kick off their Spring Training schedule on the road this weekend. They play their first home game at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex' Champion Stadium on Monday, February 26th against the Washington Nationals.
In 2020, the Braves move their Spring Training to a new complex under construction in Sarasota, Florida. Orlando and the greater Central Florida community still has two years to take in top-notch Major League Baseball action.
Atlanta plays a total of 18 home games at Champion Stadium through March 24th. Some of the highlights of the schedule include a visit by the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on March 8th and two trips to town by the New York Yankees on March 9th and March 24th.
There is great excitement surrounding the Braves after they won a surprising 70 games in 2017 and have several promising young players in the fold. Here are the top three questions for the Braves as they start Spring Training play.
1. When will Ronald Acuna make his big league debut?
Acuna is the name to know in Spring Training with Atlanta. He is almost unanimously agreed upon as baseball's top prospect and hit .325 with 21 home runs and 44 stolen bases across three minor league levels last year as a 19-year old.
Acuna continued his strong play by batting .325 with seven home runs and becoming the youngest MVP in the history of the Arizona Fall League. The Braves have several options in the outfield, but a strong spring may force their hand in carrying him on the Opening Day roster.
If they leave Acuna longer in the minor leagues, it will be merely a formality. Players who total no more than 171 days of major league service time remain under the team's control for an additional year so it makes business sense for Atlanta to give him a few weeks in Triple-A Gwinett to start the year.
Regardless of the outcome, it will be a fun spring for Braves fans and baseball fans alike to watch Acuna.
2. Is Dansby Swanson ready to step up his game?
Like Acuna, Swanson was at one time the flavor of the month for Braves fans. The former number one overall pick was expected to lock up the shortstop position in Atlanta for years to come.
Swanson initially delivered, hitting .302 in 38 games for Atlanta in his 2016 call-up to the big leagues. However, in his first full season last year, he faltered, batting just .232 and leaving many to wonder if those billboards displaying his likeness around SunTrust Park were created in hyperbole.
Swanson likely needs a strong season to keep members of the front office as believers in his future and a strong spring could jumpstart those efforts. Otherwise, he may start yielding playing time to Charlie Culberson, who was acquired in the offseason from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
3. Who is going to start at third base?
No position on the field for the Braves holds as big of a question as to who will see the majority of playing time than third base. Atlanta has kicked the can on free agent options like Mike Moustakas, but they appear to be ready to let Johan Camargo and Rio Ruiz battle it out.
Much of the reason why the Braves have not pursued a veteran for the position is that they believe 20-year-old prospect Austin Riley is the future, but he is not believed to be ready yet for a big league call-up. Camargo and Ruiz have played sparingly, making the competition a very interesting one to watch as spring plays out.
Ruiz has hit just .197 in 58 games over the last two seasons while Camargo has flashed more punch, batting .299 last season in 241 at-bats. The bench rotation in Atlanta will also be greatly affected by the outcome of this battle.
Carson Ingle has been a sportscaster and sports talk radio host in Orlando for the past ten years. He can currently be seen several times a week on Spectrum Sports 360's Face-Off segment at 10:30 p.m. on Central Florida News 13, channel 1013. Follow him on Twitter.
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