Brewers NLDS Preview: 5 Braves Players To Worry About In The Series

It was announced Monday that the Brewers will be hosting the Atlanta Braves on Friday at 3:37 CST and Saturday at 4:07 CST in Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS. The Braves finished in first place in the NL East with an overall record of 88-73, 6.5 games above the second place Philadelphia Phillies.

It will be a battle of strengths as the Brewers elite pitching staff will match up against a lineup full of very capable hitters. The Braves rank very well in numerous offensive team categories, even with the devastating loss of their superstar Ronald Acuna Jr, to a knee injury back in early July.

With a couple days until the series begins, we here at Reviewing the Brew will have all the Brewers coverage needed to get you ready for the NLDS. Here’s a preview of key players to be aware of on the Braves roster.

1. 1B Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman is the best pure hitter in the Braves lineup. The reigning NL MVP can launch a 430 foot home run to right center field or shorten up his swing and spray a single to the opposite field. He’s been to four consecutive All-Star games and has two Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove award back in 2018. Freddie Freeman is undoubtedly one of the best first basemen in baseball.

This season, Freeman has been very productive once again. Of all eligible first basemen in the NL, Freeman owns the highest batting average, hitting at a .300 clip. He popped 31 home runs, drove in 83 runs and posted an .896 OPS all while once again being one of the best at his position defensively with a .998 fielding percentage and only three errors in 1,356 chances.

Freddie Freeman is a very good low ball hitter so the Milwaukee pitchers will have to be cognizant of his batted ball profile. Another thing to consider is his significant increase of success when he faces right handed pitchers compared to southpaws.

Against left handed pitchers, his average sinks to .257, where he hits .317 against righties. This is a hitter that has time and time again come up clutch when his team needs him, including a walk-off hit to beat the Reds in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series last season. The Brewers need to be careful with Freddie Freeman in this series.

2. SP Max Fried

Max Fried is the best starter in the Braves rotation. He has the ability to pitch deep into games and last year he finished 7-0 with a 5th place finish in the Cy Young voting. In 2021, his 1.09 WHIP ranks him 15th in all of the MLB and during the season he posted 19 quality starts of the 28 games he started, 19 quality starts being tied for ninth most in all of baseball. He also was tied for the most complete game shutouts in the MLB with 2.

Fried is no stranger to pitching in big games, even with this only being his fifth year in the big leagues. He’s pitched in 12 postseason games, starting four. His postseason ERA stands at 3.90 through the five series that he’s pitched in and he owns a WHIP of 1.33. Last season against the Dodgers in the NLCS, Fried really came into his own. He threw 12.2 innings in that series, logging a 2.84 ERA and 14 strikeouts against a dangerous Dodgers lineup.

He’s a ground ball pitcher that also does a nice job of keeping the ball in the park. He ranks 13th in baseball in ground ball outs recorded during the 2021 season with 199 and he boasts a HR/9 of 0.8, as he’s only surrendered 15 big flies on the season, which is tied for third-least in the MLB (8 more than Corbin Burnes who leads in that category).Expect to see lots of curveballs when facing Max Fried as he can locate it for strikes or spike them to ring you up.

3. 3B Austin Riley

The 24 year old corner infielder has taken the league by storm in 2021. Austin Riley was one of the most productive and durable players in baseball this season. To go from 131 games played in his first two years in the MLB combined to 160 this season (which was tied for most in the NL), he has taken a jump as one of the premiere hot corner patrollers in the sport.

He finished above his teammate, Freddie Freeman in OPS with an .896 rating and above Nolan Arenado in Defensive Runs Saved. The guy can really do it all.

He popped 33 home runs and 33 doubles this season, also driving in 107 runs and scoring 91 himself. In the regular season he slashed an impressive .303/.367/.531 and posted an OPS+ of 132.

In his first postseason a year ago, he struggled overall with only a .178 average with one home run and four RBI’s in 49 plate appearances. Don’t expect those numbers during this year’s World Series run as he looks to be an entirely different hitter.

Plate discipline is one place where Austin Riley could improve as he’s below the 50th percentile in strikeout percentage, walk percentage, whiff percentage and chase rate according to Baseball Savant. When he does get ahold of the baseball though, odds are it’s coming off the barrel. If baseball fans didn’t know the name ‘Austin Riley’ entering these playoffs, they’ll more than likely know him after this series is over. He’s one of the most dangerous bats in Brian Snitker’s lineup.