“I don’t think the Braves are an 82-win team. I don’t think the Braves are an 85-win team. I think they are better than that.”
Baseball Prospectus Editor in Chief Craig Goldstein doesn’t intend for this to be a controversial statement. The vast majority of baseball fans expect the Atlanta Braves to be one of the best teams in MLB in 2021. After winning their third straight division title in 2020, the Braves are as close to a certainty as you can get in baseball.
But Goldstein’s declaration is notable, especially after PECOTA, his organization's long-running projection system, projected the Braves to win just 82.