The Atlanta Braves finished the first half of the 2012 season in second place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Nationals with a 46-39 record. Here is a look at the players who had the biggest impacts for the Braves in the first half of the season, in my opinion:

Team MVP: Michael Bourn & Craig Kimbrel - I never like to pick co-MVP’s but I couldn’t help it in this case. 29-year old lefty swinging CF Michael Bourn has been electric both at the plate and in the field for the Braves. He has played in 85 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 111 of 357 (.311 avg, .817 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 7 homers, 32 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. 24-year old righty closer Craig Kimbrel just keeps getting better for the Braves, and that’s scary for the competition. Kimbrel pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Braves in the first half of the 2012 season and he was 0-1 with 25 saves, a 1.36 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP.

Biggest Surprise: Jason Heyward - 22-year old lefty swinging RF Jason Heyward was awful in 2011 for the Braves, but he’s making up for it so far this year. Heyward has played in 82 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 80 for 294 (.272 avg, .837 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 14 homers, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Braves hope that Heyward keeps up the good work with the bat in the second half of the 2012 season.

Biggest Disappointment: Mike Minor - 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Mike Minor was supposed to be a fixture in the Braves’ rotation for a long, long time. But, he has been awful so far this year for the Braves. Minor has started 16 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 5-6 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has given up an amazingly bad 19 homers in only 92 innings so far this year. The Braves need Minor to get his act together soon, or they are going to have to replace him in the rotation.

The Braves were swept by the New York Mets last weekend as they were outscored by a combined score of 12-7. The Braves only hit .151 with a .528 OPS against the Mets. 1B Freddie Freeman was 3 for 12 (.250 avg, .500 OPS) with 1 run scored over the weekend and he was the Braves’ best hitter. The Braves had a 4.50 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP against the Mets. The got a good start out of Tommy Hanson, who is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. But, Jair Jurrjens (0-1, 6.23 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP) and Mike Minor (0-1 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP) were both awful for the Braves in their first starts of the 2012 season. The Braves will travel to Houston to take on the 2-1 Astros next.

The Braves still have a 1 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the N.L. Wild Card spot in the playoffs with 2 games to play. The Braves are sending veteran righty Derek Lowe (9-16, 4.92) against the Phillies and righty Roy Oswalt (8-10, 3.86) tonight, which probably favors the Phillies. The Phillies will start veteran righty Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.03) for tomorrow’s game while the Braves are going with righty Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23). The Phillies have been playing to win every game despite already having homefield advantage through the N.L. playoffs sewn up, so this isn’t going to be easy for the Braves as they can’t depend on the Astros helping them out by beating the Cardinals. Righty Henry Sosa (3-5, 4.68) is going for the Astros tonight against veteran righty Jake Westbrook (12-9, 4.48), which favors the Cardinals. Tomorrow in the regular season finale, righty Brett Myers (7-13, 4.31) will be taking out righty Chris Carpenter (10-9, 3.59). The Braves are going to have to knock off the Phillies to make it to the playoffs, plain and simple.

The Atlanta Braves finished the first half of the season with a 54-38 record which has them in second place in the N.L. East, 3.5 games behind the Phillies. The Braves are leading the race for the N.L. Wild Card by five games over the Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Brewers. The Braves will be likely looking to deal for some hitting late this month. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Braves in the first half:

Team MVP: 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens has been outstanding for the Braves so far this year. He has pitched in 16 games (all starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 12-3 with a 1.87 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Jurrjens has only given up 93 hits in his first 110 2/3 innings so far this year while only walking 25 batters, which is pretty impressive. Jurrjens is pitching to contact as he has only whiffed 65 batters so far this year, which makes his overall numbers that more impressive.

Biggest Surprise: The Braves turned over 1B to 21-year old lefty swinging rookie Freddie Freeman but they weren’t sure what kind of production they were going to get out of him. But, Freeman has been very solid for the Braves with both the bat and the mitt. Freeman has played in 88 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 86 for 314 (.274 avg, .805 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 13 homers, 43 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Braves hope he keeps up the good work with the bat because they need all of the offensive help they can get.

Biggest Disappointment: When the Braves traded for 31-year old righty swinging 2B Dan Uggla, they were expecting him to add a lot of power to the team while hitting at least .260. Uggla has come nowhere near those expectations in the first half of the 2011 season. Uggla has played in 92 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 63 for 340 (.185 avg, .621 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 15 homers, 34 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves need Uggla to be the player he was with the Marlins in the second half of the 2011 season.

The Atlanta Braves have gotten off to a good start in 2011. They won two out of three games against the Nationals as they outscored them 16-8. The Braves’ pitching was outstanding and they got more than enough hitting to help them over the weekend. The Braves need to keep playing well because the Phillies are going to be very tough to keep up with this year due to their amazing starting rotation.

The Atlanta Braves are 52-36 on the season which has them in first place in the N.L. East, 4 games ahead of the Mets and 4.5 games ahead of the Phillies. The Braves’ success hasn’t been without problems. Here’s a closer look at the surprises and disappointments of the first half of the 2010 season:

Pleasant Surprises: The Braves finally gave 26-year old righty swinging Martin Prado the starting job at 2B. He made the All-Star team and started last night in the place of Chase Utley. Prado has played in 87 games for the Braves this season and he is 121 of 372 (.325 avg, .851 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 10 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Troy Glaus missed most of last season so the Braves took a chance on him and he has rewarded them for it. Glaus has played in 85 games for the Braves this season and he is 75 of 295 (.254 avg, .802 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 14 homers and 58 RBIs. 28-year old righty swinging infielder Omar Infante made the All-Star Team despite being a backup player. Infante has played in 63 games for the Braves this year and he is 64 of 193 (.332 avg, .762 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 2 homers, 24 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Rookie 25-year old lefty reliever Jonny Venters has burst onto the scene for the Braves this year. He has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Braves this year and he is 3-0 with 1 save, a 1.30 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

Disappointments: 27-year old righty swinging shortstop Yunel Escobar is having by far the worst season of his major league career in 2010. Escobar has played in 75 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 62 of 261 (.238 avg, .618 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 0 homers, 19 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. 25-year old switch hitting OF Melky Cabrera has had trouble adjusting to N.L. pitching so far this season. He has played in 85 games for the Braves this year and he is 70 of 270 (.259 avg, .664 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 3 homers, 24 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 28-year old lefty swinging Nate McLouth has been a huge bust for the Braves this year. He has played in 57 games for the Braves this year and he is 30 of 170 (.176 avg, .577 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 35-year old righty starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami is also having a hard time for the Braves this year. He has started 15 games for the Braves this year and he is 1-9 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.

The Braves have three games against the Phillies at home this week before traveling to New York over the weekend for a three game set with the Mets. The Braves are 7-5 on the season which has them in 3rd place in the A.L. East, 1 game behind the Phillies. The Braves have outscored opponents 60-54 this so far this season. The Braves aren’t pitching or hitting as good as they can yet so look out when things start to click for them.

The Braves are stuck at 3-3 on the year which has them tied for 3rd place in the N.L. East with the Nationals, 2 games behind the Phillies. The Braves have outscored their opponents 33-22 this season. The offense needs to be more consistent if the Braves are going to take advantage of the outstanding pitching staff they have in place. The Braves travel to San Diego for a three game set with the Padres to start the week and they will play the Rockies this weekend in Atlanta. The Braves need to take care of business this week, plain and simple.

The Braves are off to a 2-2 start despite outscoring their opponents 23-14. The pitching is keeping up their end of the bargain as the Braves have a 2.50 ERA as a team. The bullpen has been as good as advertised as they are a combined 1-1 with 1 save, a 1.10 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. The Braves need the offense to be more consistent as they have been very hit and miss despite averaging 5.75 runs per game this year.

Veteran starting pitchers Tim Hudson and John Smoltz have both been outstanding all season long for the Braves. Smoltz continues to defy Father Time as he keeps throwing bullets up to the plate. He has started 30 games this season for the Braves and he is 14-7 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has worked 193.2 innings this season and he has allowed 187 hits, walked 44 batters and whiffed 181. Tim Hudson is pitching like the pitcher the Braves thought they were getting from the A’s three seasons ago. He has started 32 games this season for the Braves and he is 16-8 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has thrown 210.2 innings this season and he has allowed 205 hits, walked 50 batters and whiffed 122. Too bad the Braves didn’t have anyone step up in the rotation to support Hudson and Smoltz in the rotation or the Braves would be in better position to make a run at the playoffs. They are currently 78-73 which has them in 3rd place in the National League East, 5.5 games behind the Mets. The Braves are also currently 5.5 games behind the Padres in the Wild Card Race. It will be hard for the Braves to make the playoffs now….but it’s not impossible.