In advance of the Braves’ 2019 season opener, outfielder Ender Inciarte spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the upcoming season.
Q. Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson and Max Fried crack the opening rotation. How encouraged are you by these kids and this organization’s ability to develop pitching?
A. "It's very impressive. You get so many young players in this organization playing at such a high level, it's something to admire. I've been playing with (Max) Fried for the past three seasons and he's been up and down. You see his progression, the different attitude he has on the mound. I'm excited for him and what he's going to bring. The one who shocked me the most was Kyle (Wright). He has so much talent, he works hard, he's humble, he's a good teammate and good guy to have in the clubhouse. So I'm excited for him. Bryse, you know what he was doing last year. He's a young player and he had a good spring. He was throwing the ball well. We have good young players, and you get those guys to the big-league level and they start performing, this team is going to be really good for a long time."
Q. What impact are you expecting from Josh Donaldson?
A. "We all know he was an MVP, so we're hoping we can get what he's done for the last few years. He was hurt last year, but we know how good he can be when he's healthy. We're all excited for what he can bring. We have a lot of talent on this team. It's going to be very important for us to stay consistent. Everyone at the top of the order, bottom of the order – there's a lot of competition in this division. We can't rely only on one guy. But if he can be close to what he's always been in his career, if he can be on base and you have guys behind him like Freddie (Freeman), Ronald (Acuna), we're going to be able to put some runs on the board."
Q. The team talked about its confidence entering spring training. Do you see the effects of that in Florida and do you still feel the same?
A. "We have the same feeling we had last year. We just come in and play. We know what we have. We have a lot of runs to score in this clubhouse. We have a lot of talent in this clubhouse. We're not worried about who we're going to face. Consistency is the most important thing. Anybody can hit, anybody can pitch, but it's a matter of how consistent we can be through the year. We know we'll be able to score runs. We just have to be able to play defense and keep the other team from scoring runs."
Q. How much a relief is it knowing that if a guy, like A.J. Minter now, goes down, you have the pieces to withstand it?
A. "There's a lot of depth, so the front office knows what it's doing. Through last year, whomever they brought to the big-league level would perform. One guy who it was fun to see how he did in spring was Wes Parsons. He had a good spring and he was confident. Those are the types of players I see that get a chance to show what they have and they don't have any pressure on them. … You want pitchers who throw strikes and get quick outs. That's what we have. To get the offense going you need to get quick outs. This team is in good shape. There's always room for other guys to come – I don't know if the front office is looking for more people, but they're welcome. Anything to make this team better, we're open to that. We won last year when nobody thought we could win. I know a lot of people are hesitant over what we can do this year too. So we trust we can win games. We don't have to go out there and prove it; we just have to go out there and enjoy the game."
Q. You spoke glowingly of Ronald Acuna at leadoff. With him dropping down to cleanup, are you excited to return to that table-setter role (as the lead-off man)?
A. "Last year when I got moved to the bottom of the order, I'm not going to lie, it bothered me a little bit. It's something I've been doing for a while. It's something I was looking to do for a long time in my career. But then I got the chance to see the other part of the game. To have runners on base, to adjust to some situations, it's a different approach and I liked it too. This year, it doesn't matter to me where I'm hitting. I'll do the best I can to help the team score runs. Wherever you put Ronald – if you put him at leadoff, he'll be the best lead-off hitter on the team. If you put him at fourth, he'll be the best 4-hole hitter on the team. So it doesn't matter where you put him in the order, he's still going to be that good. You want to put him in a spot where he's going to be able to contribute more to the team. I'd rather have him hitting four at-bats with runners on base than five at-bats leading off. I know how (manager Brian Snitker) and the front office is trying to put the best lineup together they can to score more runs. If you ask me, I like Ronald having runners on base so we can be able to score more runs."
