Braves 2020 Hitting Recap - Part Four

Here are more notes on what the Braves did at the plate in 2020

The Braves hit .273/.354/.498 with an .852 OPS against right-handed pitchers…That is by far the best OPS for any team against right-handers this season…Atlanta also posted a 126 wRC+ against righties, tied for the best in baseball. • Freddie Freeman batted .373/.495/.733 in these situations…All those three totals were either first or second in the major leagues against righthanders…Juan Soto had a better on-base percentage (.514)…Freeman also had 33 extra-base hits and 45 RBI facing right-handers, both led baseball. 

The Braves went 27-21 (.563) when facing right-handed starters this season...Conversely, the Braves batted .248/.329/.425 against lefthanders, and went 8-4 (.667) when a southpaw started. VS. RELIEVERS: The Braves scored 206 of their 348 runs (79.9%) against opposing relievers…This was 30 more runs than the next closest team (Dodgers, 176). • Relievers had a 6.55 ERA (168 ER/230.2 IP) against Atlanta this season, the highest in baseball. • Atlanta batted .286/.368/.518 against bullpens…They led the major leagues in all three of those categories...Dansby Swanson hit a major league-best .402 (41-for-102) off relievers. 

From the seventh inning or later, the Braves scored 99 runs, third most in baseball (Padres, 109 and Dodgers, 108)…The club hit 28 home runs in these innings, also trialing the Dodgers (35) and Padres (32) for the most in baseball…Atlanta scored 31 runs in the ninth inning this season, one off the major league lead held by the Cubs (32). 0-0: The Braves had more home runs on the first pitch of an at-bat than any team in baseball this season…They hit 26 such homers, two more than the Yankees…Overall, the team hit .399/.394/.788 when putting the first pitch of an at-bat in play…Their 1.181 OPS in this count is also the best in baseball. 

1B Freddie Freeman hit .462 (18-for-39) in this count, while OF Ronald Acuña Jr. batted .429 with five home runs and a 1.238 slugging percentage. CATCHERS: Atlanta’s four catchers this season – William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers and Alex Jackson – batted a collective .299/.371/.491 (67-for-224), with an .862 OPS which ranked fifth in the majors…The league average for the catcher position is .232 with a .706 OPS…Those four players combined to have a 1.7 fWAR, tied with the Reds for the third best in the National League (Phillies, 2.4 and Dodgers, 2.0). • Alex Jackson and William Contreras opened the season on the active roster…Both Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers made the Opening Day roster but were held out as a precaution to COVID.  

Jackson, who started on Opening Day, recorded his first major league hit on July 28, when he doubled off the Rays’ Yonny Chirinos…He began his major league career 0-for-17. • Contreras, the younger brother of the Cubs’ Willson, made his major league debut as a defensive replacement on Opening Day… At 22 years, 213 days, Contreras became the youngest Braves catcher to debut since Jarrod Saltalamacchia did so on his 22nd birthday in 2007. • In his first career plate appearance, on July 25, Contreras doubled home a run in the 10th inning. • Willson also made his debut as a defensive replacement (June 17, 2016), before also collecting an extra-base hit in his first career plate appearance in his second game (a home run on June 19).  

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