Four Takeaways Ahead of Braves Postseason Play

The regular season is over. The Atlanta Braves are officially in postseason mode. Come Tuesday, they'll host the rival Philadelphia Phillies for Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series.

With a day to go until that first game arrives, we have a chance to sit on some final thoughts before the postseason games underway. Here are four takeaways to chew on.

Pitching Isn't An Issue for a Three-Game Series

If they get beyond that, then we'll have that conversation. That might be when they feel the absence of Martín Pérez the most. However, to get past three games, the Braves shouldn't have much trouble finding a way.

Between Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle, they may not even have to turn to anybody for Game 3. If they do, which is more than realistic, they showed over the last few days that they can turn to some long relievers to cover nine innings with quality work.

They have a few options they could turn to for long relief between Brent Suter, Didier Fuentes, AJ Smith-Shawver, Dylan Dodd, Elieser Hernández and Ray Kerr. Maybe not all of them can fit on a 13 pitcher staff, but the point is that they have the options.

Grant Holmes is also still an option to get a start, even if he pitched behind an opener over the weekend. In his last 10 appearances, he pitched to a 2.54 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He's heading into the postseason with some momentum. They'll need that.

A Healthy Acuña on the Postseason Roster Should Be Fun

It's not always a guarantee. Make sure to take it in and enjoy it. In the team's last four postseason appearances, Ronald Acuña Jr. missed half of them due to injury.

The Braves' right fielder finished the final month of the season batting .307 with a .950 OPS, seven home runs and 19 RBIs. He's hitting the ball hard and looking acrobatic in the outfield. A chance to be a postseason hero could be here.

It's Hard to Tell What Production They'll Get From (Most of ) the Infield

Production from Matt Olson is the best we've seen in a few years. He's not part of this discussion. The rest of the offense in the infield is more up in the air.

Ozzie Albies, who more than earned his All-Star nod with his first-half showing, had an anemic final month and a half of the season. In his final 42 games, he batted .175 with a .486 OPS.

Austin Riley has shown he can have his moments, but there would have been more confidence in his production if he were coming off his August performance rather than his September performance. After posting a .750 OPS in August, it dropped to .636 in September. He's now the first Braves player to strike out 200 times in a season.

As for Ha-Seong Kim, he's looked his best so far, but the bar is low. His .556 OPS in September was better than in other months. I'll leave it at that.

It's baseball. Anyone can be a hero at any time, and all three of them had their heoric moments this season. So, don't count them out entirely. However, it's understandable if there are concerns.

Robert Suárez Has Looked Better Than Stat Line Suggests

Would it have been nice if he had had more time? Of course. He's two appearances into his return from a long-term injury. Even with that in mind, he's mostly pitched well. He hasn't walked anybody and has needed few pitches to get through his appearances. The velocity was where it should be, too.

He's been clipped for two triples that led to runs. That's the difference. One triple was off a sinker over the plate. The other was a changeup that Heriberto Hernández got enough of and everything after that went just right for him.

Two pitches have bit him. Only one of them really should have. If you're uneasy, that's totally fair. A bad pitch or two in the postseason can make or break a team. He still has a solid chance to make a strong impact on this team in the postseason.