Five storylines to watch in a transitional Braves season

Plenty of attention will again be focused on Dansby Swanson, only this time it’ll be to see whether the Braves shorstop can bounce back from a disappointing rookie season and remain a big part of the team’s future plans. (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)

Plenty of attention will again be focused on Dansby Swanson, only this time it’ll be to see whether the Braves shorstop can bounce back from a disappointing rookie season and remain a big part of the team’s future plans. (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)

Seldom has a season been as difficult to predict as the one set to begin for the Braves, who’ve completed the most difficult parts of their rebuilding project and are poised to … well, what exactly?

The rebuild has tested the patience of a large fan base and reduced the Braves from gold-standard franchise to one that’s not been very relevant after the Fourth of July in recent years. But most baseball fans know the Braves have a stable of prospects including the best young pitching talent of any organization, and this is the year a wave of those prospects could make significant impacts at the big-league level.

The rebuild has grinded through three consecutive seasons with at least 90 losses, a challenging period for a franchise that endured only one 90-loss season in the previous 24 years.

Whether the Braves make substantial improvements in 2018 remains to be seen, but here are five storylines to watch as it unfolds.