MLB.com position by position comparison: 2018 NLDS

The Braves are 2018’s Astros; young, energetic and years ahead of schedule. With an offense galvanized by ROY candidate Ronald Acuna and a pitching staff led by Mike Foltynewicz and a plethora of prospects, the Braves should contend for years to come. However, veterans Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran - holdovers from the Braves last playoff appearance - are ready to win now. Having clinched the NL East for the first time since 2013, Brian Snitker is tooled up for a deep postseason run.

After winning game 163 versus the Rockies on Monday, the Dodgers will have home field advantage in the Division Series. Despite having won 12 less games, this year’s team is playing with a chip on its shoulder after coming up short in the World Series last year. With a ridiculously deep and flexible lineup captained by Justin Turner and a rotation of aces following Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles expects to make another deep playoff run. Managing Los Dodgers to their sixth straight division title, Dave Roberts turned his group from injury-riddled disappointment to NL Champion favorite in the course of a season.

One win separates Los Angeles from Atlanta. Before their best of five series begins on Thursday, we dove deep into the numbers and created a position-by-position comparison to better understand their respective strengths and weaknesses. The results:

Catcher

Offensively, Yasmani Grandal has led National League catchers in home runs for three straight years now (24 in 2018) and has played 115 games for the fifth straight season. Some of the Dodgers pitching success is attributable to Grandal’s elite framing and defense. However, the best pitch-framer in baseball is none other than the Braves primary backstop; Tyler Flowers leads baseball with 14.8 framing runs saved this year, (a measure of how significant each borderline strike translates into runs), slightly higher than Grandal’s 14.3. That’s not enough to overlook the latter's .815 OPS and 125 wRC+, significantly better than Flowers’ .700 OPS and 95 wRC+.

Advantage: Dodgers

First

Though Cody Bellinger has more starts there, Max Muncy will likely play first for the majority of the Dodgers postseason, (as he did in Game 163). Muncy broke out with a bang this year, leading the team in home runs (35) and walks (79). Muncy has been scorching hot, going 7-17 with 4 runs, 4 xbh, and 6 rbi in his last 5 games. However, perennial MVP Freddie Freeman has history on his side; he’s had an OPS over .840 for six straight seasons! 2018 might be considered a down year by his standards, but he set career highs in doubles (44) and hits (191) and played every single game for the second time in his career.

Advantage: Braves

Second

In his first full season, switch-hitting Ozzie Albies is 5th in runs (105) and tied for 6th in doubles (40) in the NL. Through the All-Star break, Albies had all but lived up to the Jose Altuve comparisons; he’s currently mired in a 52 at-bat slump in which he has 6 hits and 12 strikeouts. The Dodgers thought they’d found a solution to their second base futility, acquiring Brian Dozier right before the June 31 trade deadline. However, the former Twin had the worst month of his career, going 4-46 with just 1 home run in September. The veteran does have twice as many walks on the year than Albies, 70 to 36, and homered in his only postseason appearance with Minnesota (2017 AL Wild Card game).

Slight Advantage: Braves

Shortstop

Manny Machado played every game this year, setting career bests in homers (37) and RBI (107) in split-time between Baltimore and LA; the shortstop re-solidified himself as one of the games’ top bats while proving capable of playing above average defense. His 6.2 WAR is second among shortstops, and head-and-shoulders above Dansby Swanson’s 1.9 mark. The #1 overall pick in 2015 got closer to being the centerpiece Atlanta envisioned acquiring a few seasons ago, but Swanson has been dealing with a left wrist injury since leaving a game on September 26th. Charlie Culberson - who put up a .792 OPS in a career-best year - is the likely fill-in.

Big Advantage: Dodgers

Third

Justin Turner, when healthy, is an MVP candidate. In 55 games since returning from a groin strain he’s put up an OPS over 1.000, so it’s safe to say he’s feeling much better. Johan Camargo rewarded the Braves’ decision to not sign a free agent third baseman this offseason, smashing to the tune of an .800 OPS, 27 doubles and 19 homers, but he’s no JT.

Advantage: Dodgers

Left Field

Ronald Acuna Jr. has done nothing but hit since his call up at the end of June. 127 in 111 games, 56 for extra bases. He brings power to the lead-off spot, but roams centerfield like a graceful gazelle. The Dodgers will play a righty-lefty platoon of Matt Kemp and Joc Pederson. Kemp led the team with 85 RBI in a renaissance season, while Pederson led the team with a .522 slugging percentage. The tandem combines for 158 total postseason plate appearances, in comparison to Acuna’s zero, but talent-wise…

Advantage: Braves

Center Field

Cody Bellinger put together another impeccable season, playing 162 games this year. The 2017 unanimous ROY has almost seamlessly transitioned from first to center, making his pace an asset in the outfield. The Braves counter with two-time gold glove Ender Inciarte, who can track down just about everything. While the numbers show a regression from his 201-hit 2017, Inciarte set career highs with 61 RBI and 28 stolen bases.

Advantage: Dodgers

Right Field

Nick Markakis was selected to his first career All-Star Game at age 34, hitting over .300 for most of the season, but has managed just 3 hits in his last 25 ABs. A team-favorite, in his 13-year career Markakis has accumulated six Heart and Hustle Awards, recognition given to the player who best embodies the values, spirits and traditions of baseball for each team. On the other hand, the Dodgers have the “Wild Horse” from Cienfuegos, Cuba: Yasiel Puig. After hitting five homers in two games at Busch Stadium, Puig finished the year cold, with just 8 hits in his last 38 ABs. He does have the power that Markakis lacks.

Slight Advantage: Braves

Bench

This is where we mention those we haven’t so far. Chris Taylor, David Freese, Kiké Hernández, Chase Utley and Austin Barnes allow pinch-hit-happy Dave Roberts to manipulate matchups as he sees fit; LA leads the league in pinch-hit hits, while the Braves are 13th. Atlanta’s group will not include Culberson, who starts at short in Swanson’s absence. That leaves Lucas Duda, Ryan Flaherty, Kurt Suzuki and Adam Duvall. The latter was coming off back to back 30-homer seasons before seeing his batting average dip this year (pushing Duvall to mostly bench duties).

Advantage: Dodgers

Rotation

The Dodgers combined for a league-best 3.19 starters ERA. Kershaw and Buehler are followed in the rotation by Game 1 starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda; at least one of them will be in the bullpen. The Braves’ starters combined for a 3.50 ERA, second in the NL. Mike Foltynewicz, Julio Teheran, Sean Newcomb, Anibal Sanchez and Kevin Gausman make up the rotation. The key separator: the Braves’ starters have walked 362 batters, while the Dodgers’ group has walked just 223.

Advantage: Dodgers

Bullpen

All-Star closer Kenley Jansen saved 38 games in 2018 but gave up 13 homers and lost 5 games, dealing with an irregular heartbeat. The Dodgers had very little wiggle room under the luxury tax threshold this year, replacing Tony Watson and Brandon Morrow with Scott Alexander and Dylan Floro, who have been surprising revelations. Rookie Caleb Ferguson posted 7 wins in relief with an impressive 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while Pedro Baez has yielded 1 run in his last 19 appearances. Their kryptonite: 75 home runs allowed, the most of all postseason bullpens. Their strength: a .303 OBP against, best of all postseason bullpens in avoiding traffic.

The Braves have closing concerns, too, with Arodys Vizcaino on the injured list for most of September. However, he and lefty AJ Minter posted a combined 2.80 ERA sharing the closer role this year, converting 31/35 save chances. Midseason acquisition Brad Brach has given up only 4 runs in 27 appearances with Atlanta, rookie Chad Sobotka has given up 5 hits in the 14 innings since his call-up, and Jonny Venters has held lefties to a .167 average in his comeback season from a third Tommy John surgery!

Slight Advantage: Dodgers