Los Angeles Dodgers: How the Dodgers compare to the Atlanta Braves
By Jason Reed
Outfield:
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers could drop one of these outfielders and have Enrique Hernandez serve as an outfielder but I think the team will go with this outlook instead.
- LF — Joc Pederson
- LF — Matt Kemp
- CF — Cody Bellinger
- CF — Chris Taylor
- RF — Yasiel Puig
It is hard to assign these guys a position as the outfield will likely be juggled around based on matchups. However, in the Dodgers’ best lineup, Joc Pederson fields left, Cody Bellinger fields center and Yasiel Puig fields right.
Cody Bellinger is an elite defensive first baseman and a good defensive outfielder. Putting him in the outfield certainly is the worst of the two moves, however, the Dodgers cannot take Muncy’s bat out of the lineup against right-handed pitchers and Bellinger becomes the guy to move.
Pederson provides the pop in his swing and has had some postseason heroics and will likely split time with Chris Taylor. Matt Kemp is good against southpaws and has come up big late in the season but has also been inconsistent.
What is your prediction for the #Dodgers-Braves NLDS?
— LA Sports Hub (@LA_SportsHub) October 2, 2018
Yasiel Puig has been hitting the ball as hard as anyone the last month of the season and seemingly always gives the Dodgers a good at-bat in the postseason. He has elite defense in right field and provides the spark for the team.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are very good defensively and offensively in the outfield.
- LF — Ronald Acuna
- LF — Adam Duvall
- CF — Ender Inciarte
- RF — Nick Markakis
- RF — Preston Tucker
The one flaw I would give the Braves outfield, and the rest of the lineup for that matter is that it lacks a ton of depth.
The starting trio of Ronald Acuna, Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis is great. The Braves’ outfield is offensively sound and is average at worst in the field. They are not as good as they were a few months ago, as they leveled out, but all three men have the potential for a big game.
However, Adam Duvall simply has not been good in Atlanta and Preston Tucker is a young guy that gets the roster spot because there really is no one else to give it to. These are decent pinch-hit options, sure, but if the starting unit is struggling the Braves really have no answer.
I think this is the closest of all the position groups. The Braves do lack the depth and those five guys have a worse collective fWAR than the Dodgers’ five guys (12.8 to 9.4). This one is narrow, but still LA.