Chopcast: Braves off to baseball's best start

Chopcast: Braves off to baseball's best start

Published Apr. 15, 2013 8:57 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — Convinced yet?

Following a road sweep of divisional rival and World Series favorite Washington — the Braves' third-consecutive sweep, no less — Atlanta boasts baseball's best record. The team's latest triumph came with all the trappings, too: an extra-inning comeback affair, a pitcher's duel and a rout.

With aces Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez in the offense's rearview mirror (for now), what is next for the explosive lineup?

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the team's start is the way in which it's pulled it off. Two-thirds of the Braves' outfield (Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton) has struggled to start the season. First baseman Freddie Freeman has missed the majority of the first 12 games. Dan Uggla's hitting issues in a Braves uniform continue.

But behind the bats of newcomers Justin Upton and Evan Gattis — 71 percent of the Braves' run creation has come off the bat of guys who were not on the roster last season — and baseball's most complete pitching staff to date (1.83 team ERA), Atlanta looks like a bona fide World Series contender.

So ... are they? The Chopcast team — Zach Dillard, Cory McCArtney and Jay Clemons — discuss that and more. Here are the highlights:

-- How impressive has Atlanta's pitching staff looked to start the season? Paul Maholm, Tim Hudson and Mike Minor are off to dominant starts. Can they keep it up?

-- The Year of Gattis continues. The team's cult hero of a rookie carries the No. 2 OPS in the entire National League through the first 12 games of his career. What will the Braves do when Brian McCann comes off the disabled list? (Warning: extreme opinions discussed.)

-- Who is "John Watkinsville"?


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