Braves manager Brian Snitker says his hitters eventually will start hitting more. I buy that. Also consider that the team’s best hitter hasn’t played a game (Ronald Acuña Jr. is close to returning from injury) and the major free-agent addition has played only four (Jurickson Profar is eligible to return from a doping suspension June 29).
The bullpen is where general manager Alex Anthopoulos needs to find help. The offense has underachieved, but it hasn’t been terrible: 20th in MLB in runs per game, 17th in on-base percentage, 14th in isolated power. The bullpen has been worse. The 3.