47-year old Fredi Gonzalez finished 5th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. Manager of the Year Award. Gonzalez led the Braves to a 89-73 record (54.9%) in 2011, but they faded badly at the end of the year costing them a playoff spot. Gonzalez is now 365-352 (50.9%) in his first five years as a major league manager. Look for him to continue to do a solid job for the Braves, who are going to be good again in 2012.

23-year old righty closer Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves became the 10th unanimous player to win the N.L. Rookie of the Year as he took down every first place vote. Kimbrel pitched in 79 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 4-3 with 46 saves (led the N.L.), a 2.10 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He gave up only 48 hits while whiffing an amazing 127 batters in only 77 innings for the Braves last year! He has now pitched in 100 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Braves and he is 8-3 with 47 saves, a 1.75 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. The Braves feel great when they have a lead heading into the 9th innings, as Kimbrel is lights out!

UPDATE: (11/17/2011) - Craig Kimbrel finished tied for 9th in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting with John Axford of the Brewers.

UPDATE II (11/22/2011) - Craig Kimbrel tied for 23rd in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award today. He was tied with Starlin Castro (SS, Cubs), Carlos Ruiz (C, Philly) and Mike Stanton (OF, Marlins).

22-year old lefty swinging 1B Freddie Freeman finished in 2nd place in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award, behind his teammate Craig Kimbrel. Freeman played in 157 games for the Braves last year and he was 161 for 571 (.282 avg, .795 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 21 homers, 76 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 177 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 165 for 595 (.277 avg, .784 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 22 homers, 77 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. I think that Freeman’s power is going to get better as he goes along in his career, as 2011 was a learning experience.

26-year old lefty swinging catcher Brian McCann tied for 21st in the N.L. MVP Award voting with 1B Adam Dunn of the Nationals. McCann played in 143 games for the Braves last season and he was 129 of 479 (.269 avg, .828 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 21 homers, 77 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. McCann played in 754 games in his first six years with the Braves and he is 752 of 2,602 (.289 avg, .849 OPS) with 326 runs scored, 112 homers, 466 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. McCann is one of the core players on the Braves and he is one of the best catchers in all of baseball.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Martin Prado finished 9th in the N.L. MVP Award Voting last season. Prado played in 140 games for the Braves last season and he was 184 of 599 (.307 avg, .809 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Prado has now played in 398 games in his first five years with the Braves and he is 423 of 1,378 (.307 avg, .810 OPS) with 208 runs scored, 29 homers, 159 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Prado will move to left field in 2011 with Dan Uggla now on hand to play 2B.