24-year old lefty swinging Brian McCann is one of the best young catchers in all of baseball and he should continue playing at a high level in 2008 with the Braves. McCann played in 139 games in 2007 with the Braves and he was 136 for 504 (.270 avg, .772 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 18 homers and 92 RBIs. The one area that McCann could improve a little bit on is throwing out baserunners trying to steal as he has only nailed 20% of them. But he does a nice job with the pitching staff of the Braves who had a 3.89 ERA throwing to him. Look for McCann to be on the All-Star team in 2008.

37-year old Javy Lopez has been brought back to battle 26-year old Brayan Pena for the right to backup Brian McCann. Lopez last played in the majors in 2006 with the Orioles and Red Sox. He has now played in 1,503 games in his major league career and he is 1,527 for 5,319 (.287 avg, .828 OPS) with 674 runs scored, 260 homers and 864 RBIs. Lopez is a Bobby Cox favorite so he should have every opportunity to win the job in spring training.

26-year old switch hitting Brayan Pena played in only 16 games for the Braves last season and he was 7 for 33 (.212 avg., 515 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Pena threw out 33% of the runners that tried to steal on him in the bigs but Braves pitchers had a 6.07 ERA when he caught.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON: A-

The Braves lost Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria in the off-season but they likely will be a better team in 2008. The biggest addition to the starting lineup will be Mark Kotsay who will replace Jones in center field. This will be a gigantic drop in production but he’s a gamer that always plays all out. Infielder Omar Infante and outfielder Josh Anderson will both have good chances to contribute off the bench for the Braves. They also brought back old friend Javy Lopez to battle for the job as backup to Brian McCann.

Bringing back Tom Glavine should help the rotation. He’s still a crafty pitcher who will likely be a decent #3 or #4 starter for the Braves this year. Righty starter Jair Jurrjens was acquired from the Tigers in the Renteria trade and he could win a job in the starting rotation for the Braves if Mike Hampton isn’t ready. Lefty Will Ohman should give the Braves a semi-dependable arm in the bullpen.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE: C

The Braves have signed 31-year old lefty starter Damian Moss to a minor league contract. Moss last pitched in the majors in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He has pitched in 74 games (61 starts) in his major league career and he is 22-19 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Moss will be a long shot to make the pitching staff of the Braves.