22-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward burst onto the scene in 2010 when he finished 2nd in the N.L. Rookie of the Year Voting. Last year though, he played through an injured shoulder and the result was a very disappointing sophomore season. Heyward played in 128 games for the Braves last year and he was 90 for 396 (.227 avg, .708 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 14 homers, 42 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. But, the early signs are good for Heyward this year. He has played in 6 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 6 for 19 (.316 avg, 1.013 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Braves are counting on Heyward to have a big year in 2012, so they hope he can keep up the good work.

31-year old righty swinging 2B Dan Uggla has played in 21 games so far this September and he is 17 for 73 (.233 avg, .808 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 5 homers and 10 RBIs. The Braves need Uggla to not only hit for power but to juice up his batting average in the next week and a half, which would go a long way towards helping them win the Wild Card in the N.L. Uggla has now played in 154 games for the Braves this year and he is 133 for 572 (.233 avg, .763 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 35 homers, 78 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

27-year old lefty swinging Brian McCann and 34-year old righty swinging David Ross have continued to swing good bats for the Braves this year. McCann has played in 114 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 115 of 415 (.277 avg, .840 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 23 homers, 66 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He is one of the very best catchers in all of baseball. Whenever McCann has needed a break, David Ross has stepped right in and performed well. Ross has played in 48 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 38 for 144 (.264 avg, .771 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 6 homers and 23 RBIs. The Braves almost always seem to have an advantage behind the plate when they take the field as McCann & Ross are good hitters and they handle the pitching staff really well.

21-year old lefty swinging 1B Freddie Freeman is having a very solid rookie year for the Braves. He has played in 129 games for the Braves so far and he is 138 for 475 (.291 avg, .816 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 18 homers, 64 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. August as a tad slow for Freeman as he has played in 24 games so far this month in which he is 23 for 87 (.264 avg, .703 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. The Braves hope that Freeman finishes the year strongly for the Braves, who are fighting for a playoff spot.

39-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones is proving that he can still rank even in his old age (baseball wise). Jones has played in 12 games so far in August and he is 17 for 42 (.405 avg, 1.125 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. He has now played in 94 games for the Braves this year and he is 94 for 340 (.276 avg, .815 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 12 homers, 57 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Jones has always been a big game player so I look for him to stay hot at the plate as the Braves surge to the N.L. Wildcard spot.