Two players could stop the Braves from losing so much

It’s not news that the Atlanta Braves are bad. And boy, are they bad. Their record is 14-35, and their team batting average is .232, 26th out of 30 teams. The best hitter on the Braves right now is Jeff Francoeur. Yes, that Jeff Francoeur. After a surprisingly solid 2015 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Frenchy is giving the Braves at least one positive thing about their offense. He’s hitting .287/.319/.398 while playing nearly full time.

Despite all of this badness, and the precariousness of Francoeur’s resurgence, there is hope. While the Braves’ lineup is currently a vast wasteland of players hitting under .260, there are a few players who could turn their seasons around and stop the Braves from losing so much.

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You can watch the Braves try to not lose to the San Francisco Giants in Yahoo Sports’ Free Game of the Day. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. ET, and you can stream it on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home. Local blackouts apply, according to MLB rules.

Freddie Freeman is a player the Braves want to hold on to for the future, and he’s better than his current stats, but 2016 has been a roller coaster. After an underwhelming April, it looked like Freeman might be turning things around. He really turned it on in the last two games of April, and from May 1 through 15, he hit over .300. But May didn’t end there, and from the 16 through now he hit just .204.

Freeman’s splits look really weird, though. In his career, he’s much stronger against right-handed pitchers, with a .297 average against them versus a .255 average against lefties. But in 2016, he has a higher average against lefties (.279) than righties (.241). He’s faced more righties thus far, so if Freeman can return to his righty thumping ways, his season could still definitely turn around.

Freeman isn’t the only hitter who is performing well under his abilities. Nick Markakis is struggling as well. Markakis had a stellar April, hitting .302/.406/.430, but that’s where it all stopped. In May, he’s hit just .183/.295/.237, sinking his .302 batting average to .240. Markakis’ righty-lefty splits look normal, and his batting average on balls in play is near his career average, so the explanation seems to be strikeouts. He’s on pace to strike out about 20% more this season than his past two. It’s hard for balls to fall in when they’re not even being hit.

Everyone’s wondering how long the Braves can continue losing like this. And though Freeman and Markakis are better than their early-season stats suggest, unless they turn things around and start playing to their abilities, the Braves could keep playing like this all season long.

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