40-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones tied for 32nd in the N.L. MVP voting with Miguel Montero, Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence. Jones played in 112 games for the Braves last year and he was 111 of 387 (.287 avg, .832 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 14 homers, 62 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Jones played in 2,499 games in his 19 years with the Braves and he was 2,726 of 8,984 (.303 avg, .930 OPS) with 1,619 runs scored, 468 homers, 1,623 RBIs and 150 stolen bases. Jones retires #2 in Braves’ history in games played with 2,499 of them. He is also #2 in hits (2,726), #2 in OPS (.930), #2 in runs scored (1,619), #3 in homers (468), #2 in RBIs (1,623) and he is #2 in doubles (549) in Braves’ history. Jones is also the Braves’ all-time leader in walks with 1,512 of them. Chipper Jones is going to go down as one of the best players in Braves’ history and I think he will be a Hall of Famer down the road.

23-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward finished tied for 28th in the N.L. MVP voting with Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies. Heyward played in 158 games for the Braves last year and he was 158 of 587 (.269 avg, .814 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 27 homers, 82 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He has now played in 428 games in his first three years with the Braves and he is 392 of 1,503 (.261 avg, .799 OPS) with 226 runs scored, 59 homers, 196 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. Heyward has potential to be much better than he was in 2013 in the near future and that has to have the Braves excited.

29-year old righty swinging OF/3B Martin Prado finished tied for 20th in the N.L. MVP voting with Kris Medlen and Alfonso Soriano. Prado played in 156 games for the Braves last year and he was 186 of 617 (.301 avg, .796 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 10 homers, 70 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He has now played in 683 games in his first seven years with the Braves and he was 752 of 2,546 (.295 avg, .780 OPS) with 355 runs scored, 52 homers, 286 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Prado might move from LF to 3B in 2013 to replace Chipper Jones.

27-year old righty reliever/starter Kris Medlen finished tied for 20th in the N.L. MVP voting with Alfonso Soriano and Martin Prado. Medlen pitched in 50 games (12 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 10-1 with 1 save, a 1.57 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has now pitched in 120 games (30 starts) in his first four years with the Braves and he is 19-8 with 1 save, a 2.85 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Medlen has locked himself into a job in the Braves’ starting rotation for 2013 as he was amazing last year.

29-year old lefty swinging CF Michael Bourn finished in 18th place in the N.L. MVP voting in 2012. He played in 155 games for the Braves last year and he was 171 of 624 (.274 avg, .739 OPS) with 96 runs scored, 9 homers, 57 RBIs and 42 stolen bases. Bourn has now played in 208 games in his two years with the Braves and he is 234 of 851 (.275 avg, .722 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 10 homers, 75 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. The Braves would be smart to re-sign Bourn as he is a free agent as of right now.

24-year old righty closer Craig Kimbrel finished #5 in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting in 2012. He also finished #8 in the MVP vote. Kimbrel pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 3-1 with an N.L. leading 42 saves, a 1.01 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP. Kimbrel only gave up 27 hits and 14 walks while whiffing 116 batters in only 62 2/3 eye popping innings. Kimbrel has now pitched in 163 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Braves and he is 11-4 with 89 saves, a 1.46 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Kimbrel is already the best closer in the major leagues.

48-year old manager Fredi Gonzalez finished in 4th place in the voting for the N.L. Manager of the Year in 2012. Gonzalez led the Braves to a 94-68 (58.0%) record during the regular season to win a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. But, the Cardinals beat the Braves in the Wild Card Game to end the Braves season. Gonzalez is now 183-141 (56.5%) in his first two years for the Braves during the regular season and he is 0-1 in the playoffs. The Braves think Gonzalez is the right guy to get them back to the World Series in the near future.

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.