It’s never too early to make projections in the MLB world.
In this case, the folks at FanGraphs are already trying to forecast the 2024 campaign, using winning percentage in this case.
Codify Baseball posted FanGraphs’ early projections, and one team predictably stands out.
FanGraphs projected 2024 winning % right now:
60% ATL
59%
58%
57%
56% TB HOU
55%
54%
53% TOR PHI NYY MIN
52% STL LAD SEA BAL
51% TEX MIA SD NYM BOS
50% CLE
49% ARI MIL CHC SF DET
48% LAA CIN KC PIT
47%
46% OAK
45%
44%
43%
42% WSH CWS
41%
40%
39% COL— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) November 21, 2023
The Atlanta Braves lead early projections with 60 percent.
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros check in at second place, tied at 56 percent.
Four teams follow them with a 53-percent projection: the Toronto Blue Jays, the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Yankees, and the Minnesota Twins.
In case you were wondering about the teams that made the 2023 World Series, the Texas Rangers are expected by this model to have a 51-percent winning percentage, and the Arizona Diamondbacks check in at 49 percent.
It’s easy to see the 2024 Braves matching or even improving that expectation.
In 2023, they won 104 games and lost only 58, for an excellent .642 winning percentage (64 percent).
A 97-65 record equals a .599 winning percentage, and next year’s Braves are surely talented enough to win 97 or 98 games considering that they will still have the same core that dominated pitching around the league.
They will have Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, plus (hopefully) a full season for a healthy Max Fried.
They also added reliever/starter Reynaldo Lopez and are fully expected to pursue a top pitcher.
They have been linked to Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and are definitely not out of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.
The offseason is young, and the Braves will get better.
The post Braves Dominate Early 2024 Projection appeared first on The Cold Wire.