34-year old righty swinging shortstop Alex Gonzalez is an asset to the Braves in the field with his mitt, but they need him to start helping out with the bat. He has played in 139 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 121 of 531 (.228 avg, .600 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Gonzalez still has decent random power for a shortstop but he also has no patience at the plate. He has whiffed 118 times already this year while only walking 22 times. It’s hard to have success when your swinging for the fences while swinging at everything at the same time.

22-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward had a solid rookie year in 2010, but 2011 has been a much different story so far. He has played in 107 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 75 for 341 (.220 avg, .697 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 13 homers, 39 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Heyward isn’t the full-time starter in RF anymore with righty swinging Matt Diaz around for September. Heyward has now played in 249 games in his first two years with the Braves and he is 219 for 861 (.254 avg, .790 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 31 homers, 111 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Heyward is still a big part of the Braves’ future, but they hope he steps up in September and October for them.

21-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward burst onto the scene in Atlanta last year. He played in 142 games for the Braves last year and he was 144 for 520 (.277 avg, .849 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Braves were expecting Heyward to take the next step in his development this year, but instead, he’s going backwards. Heyward has played in 85 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 64 for 287 (.223 avg, .711 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 11 homers, 29 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. If Heyward doesn’t pick up the pace with the bat soon, the Braves will have to start cutting his playing time.

The Braves are getting next to nothing offensively from the centerfielders so far this year. 29-year old lefty swinging Nate McLouth came into this season as the starter but he has played poorly once again. McLouth has played in 79 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 59 for 259 (.228 avg, .660 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 24-year old lefty swinging Jordan Schafer has also got a chance to prove himself this year but he has also been putrid. Schafer has played in 52 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 47 for 196 (.240 avg, .623 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Getting a CF that can boost the Braves’ offensively has to be a priority heading into the Trade Deadline this weekend.

24-year old lefty swinging CF Jordan Schafer is having a tough time for the Braves this year. He has played in 28 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 25 for 113 (.221 avg, .606 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. It’s really impressive that Schafer has scored 21 times for the Braves because he’s just not getting on base to often. On June 16th against the Mets, Schafer was 5 for 6 with 3 runs scored. But in his last nine games after his five hit breakout game, Schafer is 5 for 35 (.143 avg) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves really need help in the outfield as Schafer just can’t be trusted in CF if team is going to make a serious playoff run in 2011.