The Braves will likely go into the 2010 with 31-year old righty swinging Matt Diaz sharing RF with 31-year old lefty swinging Eric Hinske. That could change if the Braves think that top prospect Jason Heyward is ready for the show. Diaz is a solid professional baseball played. He played in 125 games for the Braves last season and he was 116 of 371 (.313 avg, .878 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 13 homers, 58 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Diaz made 2 errors in 66 games in RF last season while showing poor range. But he did have two assists so he has the arm to handle RF.

Eric Hinske played in 93 games for the Yankees & Pirates last season and he was 46 of 190 (.242 avg, .780 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs. Hinske is a good power hitter but it would be a reach to expect him to hit over .260 in 2010. Hinske didn’t make any errors in 35 games in RF last season while showing average range. He has a good arm for RF as he had 3 assists there in 2009.

The future in RF for the Braves is 20-year old lefty swinging Jason Heyward. Heyward played in 99 games in A+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 117 of 362 (.323 avg, .963 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 17 homers, 63 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played three years in the minors appearing in 238 games in which he is 279 of 876 (.318 avg, .899 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 29 homers, 125 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. The Braves shouldn’t rush Heyward unless they are absolutely sure that he is ready for the show.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: C+

The Braves look really deep in center field for the 2010 season. It all starts with 28-year old lefty swinging Nate McLouth who will be the starter in 2010. McLouth played in 129 games for the Pirates & Braves in which he was 130 of 507 (.256 avg, .788 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 20 homers, 70 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. The Braves hope to get at least 20 more games out of McLouth in 2010. McLouth only made 1 error in 129 games in CF last season while showing average range. McLouth has a great throwing arm too as he had 9 assists last season. Look for McLouth to have a great year for the Braves in 2010.

25-year old switch hitting Melky Cabrera will be the starting LF for the Braves but he can handle CF if the need arises. Cabrera didn’t make any errors in 103 games in CF for the Yankees last season. He showed slightly below average range in CF last season and he had 2 assists.

23-year old lefty swinging Jordan Schafer got his first taste of the majors last season and it wasn’t pretty. He played in 50 games for the Braves last season and he was 34 of 167 (.204 avg, .600 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Shafer was overmatched most of the time as he whiffed 63 times for the Braves last season. Schafer played well defensively for the Braves last season as he didn’t make any errors in 50 games in CF. Schafer showed above average range and a strong throwing arm as he had 4 assists. Schafer needs to get his bat back into gear or he will soon lose his prospect status.

26-year old lefty swinging Gregor Blanco also had a year to forget for the Braves in 2009. Blanco played in 24 games for the Braves last season and he was 8 of 43 (.186 avg, .488 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Blanco has now played in 168 games in his career with the Braves and he has a .245 career batting average with a .659 OPS so he is a better hitter than he showed last year. Blanco didn’t make any errors in 9 games for the Braves in CF last season while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B+

25-year old switch hitting Melky Cabrera will be the likely starting LF for the Braves in 2010. He played in 154 games for the Yankees last season and he was 133 of 485 (.274 avg, .752 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Cabrera really has a bat more equipped for CF as he doesn’t have enough power for a corner position. Cabrera only made 1 error in 40 games in LF for the Yankees last season while showing good range.

31-year old righty swinging Matt Diaz will likely get most of his P.T. in RF unless something happens to Cabrera. Diaz played in 50 games in LF for the Braves last season and he only made 1 error there while showing good range.

28-year old righty swinging Omar Infante can handle LF in a pinch for the Braves. He played 7 error-free games in LF for the Braves last season while showing outstanding range. He will likely get most of his P.T. in the infield in 2010.

32-year old lefty swinging Eric Hinske can also handle LF if the need arises for the Braves in 2010. He played 2 error-free games in LF last season while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: C

The Braves have signed 30-year old righty swinging catcher J.R. House to a minor league career. House played in 127 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 127 of 505 (.251 avg, .650 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 9 homers and 53 RBIs. He last played in the majors in 2008 with the Astros. House has played in 32 games in his major league career and he is 10 of 60 (.167 avg, .573 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 4 RBIs. This was a signing for organizational depth and little more as House will likely start the year in AAA.

37-year old switch hitting Chipper Jones is back in 2010 but he looked his age last season. Jones played in 143 games for the Braves last season and he was 129 for 488 (.264 avg, .818 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 18 homers, 71 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Braves are hoping that Jones will hit more like his career norms of a .307 batting average with a .947 OPS in 2010. Jones’ defense suffered as well as his bat did last season. He played in 133 games for the Braves last season and he made 22 errors while showing poor range. The Braves need him to play better if they are going to make a playoff run in 2010.

28-year old righty swinging Omar Infante will be Jones’ backup at 3B in 2010. He played in 10 error-free games for the Braves at 3B last season while showing outstanding range.

32-year old lefty swinging Eric Hinske will likely get most of his P.T. in the outfield in 2010 for the Braves but he can play 3B. He played in 13 error-free games for the Pirates and Yankees last season but he showed poor range there.

30-year old lefty swinging Joe Thurston played in 68 games at 3B for the Cardinals last season and he made 10 errors while showing good range. The Braves would be in trouble if Thurston got extended playing time at 3B in 2010 as he is not much of a hitter.

PROJECTED GRADE AT 3B IN 2010: B