Welcome to Braves Today's Opening Day countdown series! We'll use the number of days until Opening Day to look at the 2024 Braves roster through a different lens. Today: 78
The Atlanta Braves are mostly done with their roster, having filled the last two "holes" by adding to their rotation with Chris Sale and having found an everyday left fielder in Jarred Kelenic.
But we expect for the team to not be completely done in free agency - the 40-man roster stands at only 36 players, and 60-day injured list placements in spring training (pitchers Ian Anderson, Angel Perdomo and Penn Murfee are all rehabbing from various elbow surgeries) will bring that total down to 33.
So the Braves have room to make some additions, mostly for high minors depth, although it does make sense that a veteran fourth outfielder is signed. (And if that guy's a right-handed hitter, even better.)
With it being 78 days from Opening Day, let's pick a relevant stat to analyze the roster through a different lens.
Sam Hilliard got 78 at-bats as the fifth outfielder on this team last season, mostly as the injury replacement for Michael Harris II, who suffered a back injury and missed three weeks. On the season, Hilliard batted .236/.295/.431 with five homers and 25 runs scored.
Does Forrest Wall get more or less at-bats than that in 2024?
The argument for less at-bats
There's two main arguments for Wall seeing less play time in 2024 than Hilliard did in 2023: his inexperience, and Atlanta's improved depth.
Wall, a 2014 1st rounder, finally broke through and got his first play time with Atlanta last season. But he didn't actually play all that much - Wall made two starts for the Braves, one in center field and one in left field, logging a total of 30 defensive innings.
His primary use was as a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement, going 5/6 on stolen bases and being inserted into an outfield position on seven separate occasions.
On the season, Wall made a grand total of fifteen plate appearances, going six for thirteen with one homer, two doubles, and scoring six runs.
It's very unlikely that Atlanta will stand pat and be one injury away from starting Wall everyday, so adding a veteran outfielder is likely. Additionally, no matter who is signed, Wall probably isn't your backup centerfielder, Jarred Kelenic likely would be.
It feels, from where we sit in January, that Wall's role to open the season is likely to be in AAA Gwinnett unless Atlanta either doesn't make a veteran signing (unlikely) or Wall beats that guy out in spring training.
The argument for more at-bats
But that being said, there's worse options for a fourth outfielder than Forrest Wall. The 28 year-old, while not hitting for much power (career .402 slugging in the minors, with 55 homers in 825 career games), doesn't need to do that for the Atlanta Braves offense to be productive - this was the most prolific slugging offense in MLB history last season.
And what Wall does provide is both excellent defense and speed - Wall stole 52 bags in 60 attempts for Gwinnett last season in only 90 games, setting a Gwinnett record in the process. In his major league debut, inserted at first base as a pinch-runner against the Milwaukee Brewers, he stole two bases in two pitches to set up Atlanta up for a scoring opportunity in a game they'd go on to lose in extra innings.
Of Atlanta's 132 stolen bases last season, 73 of them came from Ronald Acuña Jr, with only Michael Harris II (20) and Ozzie Albies (13) finishing in double digits.
Provided that he can provide competitive at-bats, batting him 8th or 9th would give Atlanta stolen-base threat in front of Ronald Acuña Jr, requiring pitchers to be even more careful with how they attack last year's MVP at the plate.
What do you think? Should Forrest Wall be the primary backup, or should he start in Gwinnett? Let us know!
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