Who’s Not: The Uptons. While Justin was merely a disappointment, B.J. was an unmitigated disaster batting just .184 with nine homers and 12 steals in 126 games. There’s bounce-back appeal with both, though. … Speaking of bounce-back candidates, Dan Uggla hit for power (22 homers) but couldn’t even beat B.J. in average, hitting just .179. That’s two straight down years for Uggla. … After a bounce-back ‘12 when he hit 27 homers and stole 21 bases, Jason Heyward hit just 14 homers and stole two bases last year.
Who’s Hurt: Brandon Beachy continues to struggle in his return from Tommy John surgery, needing a clean-up procedure in the offseason. If he can get healthy, Beachy would be a good flier. That’s a big “if” at this point, and he’ll likely have an innings limit in 2014 anyway.
2013 team ranks Home runs: Fifth (181) Stolen bases: 24 (64) ERA: First (3.18)
Projected lineup 1. Jason Heyward, RF 2. Andrelton Simmons, SS 3. Justin Upton, LF 4. Freddie Freeman, 1B 5. Evan Gattis, C 6. Chris Johnson, 3B 7. Dan Uggla, 2B 8. B.J. Upton, CF
Projected rotation 1. Mike Minor, LHP 2. Julio Teheran, RHP 3. Kris Medlen, RHP 4. Alex Wood, LHP 5. Brandon Beachy, RHP
Projected bullpen 1. Closer: Craig Kimbrel, RHP 2. Setup: Luis Avilan, LHP 3. Setup: David Carpenter, RHP
