Through the first 69 games, the 2015 Braves are hitting better than the 2014 Braves – something that would have been hard to believe a few months ago.
Without Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis, Atlanta is scraping the bottom of the majors with just 41 homers, but it’s knocked in 275 runs through 69 games – 37 more that last season. This team is hitting .259, compared to .244 last year, and it has a better OPS (.694 compared to .688).
This team makes up for a lack of home runs with plenty of extra-base hits, recording 129 doubles and triples compared to 107 at this point last year.
The 2015 Braves have also made far better use of their plate appearances, drawing 208 walks and striking out 478 times, compared to last year’s team that drew 198 walks and struck out 601 times at this point.
But the 2014 Braves have the advantage in the only category that matters: wins. They were 36-33 through 69 games. This year the Braves are 35-35.
Last year, Atlanta finished 79-83.
