View The MLB Cappers Leaderboard For 2009 \u00a0– Picks Packages for 2010 On Sale Now! \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/p>\n Every year in baseball betting, hot sleepers pop up \u2013teams that excite us so much that we feel like we\u2019re stealing when we bet the over on the team\u2019s projected win total. So far in my 2010 predictions, we haven\u2019t touched on one of those sleepers.<\/p>\n Until now.<\/p>\n Say hello to the first \u201cwatch out\u201d team in 2010: the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n For a good 15 years, encompassing the entire 1990s and half the 2000s, the Atlanta Braves represented the pinnacle of pitching. Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and so on led Atlanta to countless division titles and a World Series. When the bottom finally fell out over the last few years, it was easy to see why: the arms left town. Chipper Jones was still around, Andruw was smashing 50 homers, Brian McCann was an All-Star…but the pitchers weren\u2019t getting outs.<\/p>\n Now, the staff is retooled and so is Atlanta\u2019s chances at October baseball.<\/p>\n Even with Javier Vazquez off to the Bronx, reinforcements have arrived. Usually effective sinkerballer Derek Lowe can\u2019t be worse than he was last season; young Jair Jurrjens made a run at the National League ERA title; Tim Hudson is another year removed from Tommy John surgery and still has something left in the tank; most importantly, the Braves now have a full season of Tommy Hanson on tap. The flamethrowing righty was arguably the NL\u2019s top pitching prospect entering 2009 and he lived up to the billing, going 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Always a strikeout machine in the minors, he learned how to miss major-league bats as the season progressed, whiffing 91 guys in 86.2 innings after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n Atlanta\u2019s bullpen has a few good arms but doesn\u2019t inspire confidence like the starters do. Sure, Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito have been lights-out stoppers in their careers, but they\u2019re 38 and 40 years old, respectively. The grim reaper of baseball could claim them at any moment. Bobby Cox \u2013 managing his final big-league season \u2013 has to hope Peter Moylan can handle closing duties in a pinch, though his funky delivery makes him more of a specialist than a closer. The question on everyone\u2019s mind is whether or not Jason Heyward, widely considered the top offensive prospect in baseball, can make the jump to the majors this season. He\u2019s certainly making a strong case in spring training, grabbing headlines by launching balls into parking lots. It\u2019s not a matter of \u201cif\u201d Heyward plays for Atlanta this year; just \u201cwhen.\u201d Don\u2019t be surprised if he makes the Opening-Day roster. Given his solid strikeout-to-walk ratio as a minor leaguer, he could mature quickly enough to make the big club for Game 1.<\/p>\n The Braves aren\u2019t quite ready to tangle with mighty Philadelphia, but they\u2019re a talented group that should keep improving. Guys like Hanson, Escobar and obviously Heyward haven\u2019t hit their ceilings. The Braves are probably a year or two away from seriously challenging the Phillies but bettors shouldn\u2019t be surprised if they factor into the Wildcard mix this year.<\/p>\nMLB Team Preview \u2013 Atlanta Braves<\/h3>\n
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\nOffensively, the Braves aren\u2019t perfect, but they have some effective bats and one huge presence on the way. The projected starting lineup offers a little bit of everything, from experienced-but-fragile power hitters (Chippers Jones, Tory Glaus) to solid hitters entering their primes (Nate McLouth, Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar) to plucky overachievers like Martin Prado.<\/p>\n