The Braves signed 28-year old righty swinging CF B.J. Upton to a 5-year, $75.25 million deal last winter and it’s starting to look like a really bad move.  Upton has played in 27 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 15 for 101 (.149 avg, .500 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers, 5 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Upton has only walked 9 times and he has whiffed 34 times so far this year, which is pathetic.  The Braves need B.J. Upton to turn things around and get back to the 30/30 type player he was with the Tampa Bay Rays.  He also needs to start playing better to avoid some big time ribbing from his younger brother Justin, who is outplaying him big time so far this year.

Last year, 23-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward had a big year for the Braves.  He 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.  Heyward slumped in 2011 after a good rookie year and he rebounded last year, so the Braves had high hopes for him coming into the 2013 season, but he is off to an awful start.  Heyward has played in 13 games so far this month for the Braves and he is 5 for 43 (.116 avg, .562 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Braves hope that Heyward gets his act together soon, as he’s starting to look like a guy that can’t put two good years in a row together.

The Upton’s went in two different directions for the Braves against the Phillies.  25-year old righty swinging LF Justin Upton looked pretty good at the plate for the Braves.  He played in 3 games for the Braves against the Phillies and he was 3 for 10 (.300 avg, 1.317 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs.  28-year old righty swinging CF B.J. Upton had a rough time against the Phillies.  He played in 3 games against the Phillies and he was 0 for 11 (.000 avg, .000 OPS) with 0 walks and 7 whiffs (including 4 in the second game of the 2013 seas0n).  I expect the older Upton to snap out of his funk soon as it’s not good to be outplayed by your younger brother.

32-year old righty swinging 2B Dan Uggla is in a deep slump for the Braves right now. Uggla has played in 13 games so far in July and he is 4 for 42 (.095 avg, .422 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 37 games so far in June and July in which he is 17 for 123 (.138 avg) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Uggla has played in 89 games overall this year and he is 67 for 310 (.216 avg, .729 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves need Uggla to get back on the right track, and soon.

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.

21-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting last year and he was a N.L. All-Star. Heyward played in 142 games for the Braves last year and he was 144 of 520 (.277 avg, .849 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. This year though, Heyward has been injury prone and not very effective when he has played. Heyward has played in 48 games for the Braves this year and he is 33 for 150 (.220 avg, .730 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers, 15 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Braves need Heyward to pick it up with the bat because they were depending on him to improve in 2011.