2021 MLB Showdown Set -- World Series Champion Atlanta Braves

 The weather outside my still be frightful, and the lockout is not delightful..... but we've got a plethora of new Showdown cards to share -- the entire 2021 Set!!! Once again, this set was made entirely on the MLB Showdown Bot, which is how we made the 2019 remake set too. What does this mean? For starters, it guarantees consistency in point values and across seasons. Not only does this mean guys from 2019 set can easily cross with 2021 and vice versa, but these cards fit seamlessly into the original 2001 set! Thanks to Matt's hard work with cutouts, we've got OVER 700 players coming to the blog over the next few weeks. That's right -- thanks to the speed at which cards can be made/calculated on the BOT, we made a lot of more "marginal" statistical players and, frankly, cards per roster since we could! 

Per feedback from you, the readers, we're releasing cards with bleed to make it easier for y'all to use these free cards at home and we're releasing them one team at a time instead of dumping full divisions.

The first team to be released, per tradition, is the World Series champions -- the Atlanta Braves!! Atlanta entered the postseason as the 3 seed in the NL, only winning 88 regular season games, but in a recipe for success straight out of 1995, rode excellent pitching through the postseason and onto breaking the seemingly always heart-breaking curse that's been felt by the city of Atlanta these past 25 years and change. Those 88 wins are also deceptive because the Pythagorean W-L record was 94-68, which is far more indicative of a team's Showdown strength. But speaking of 1995, here's a little treat:

The famed and Cooperstown enshrined big three, circa 1995

Now, let's get to the most recent champion from the ATL:

Lineup: Looking at the typical World Series lineup for Atlanta, I have to say that I am underwhelmed. Acuna's injury really, really hurt this squad and when you look at leadoff man Eddie Rosario's OB 6 card, the hole left behind by OB 9/OB 10, speed A, 17-20 HR Acuna is deeply felt. But that's not to say this lineup doesn't have thump, starting with the 2020 MVP, Freddie Freeman, who brings an extremely draftable 420 pt OB 10, 1B+1 card to the set. Managers are going to like that he's not speed C, that his single range starts relatively early to a lot of 1B, and that he's got a couple HRs on his chart. Ozzie Albies brings another solid 2B card -- what he lacks in OB, he makes up for in a dynamic chart. Cleaning up was the surprise MVP candidate for Atlanta and their best hitter in the lineup -- 3B Austin Riley. Living up to his former top 100 prospect status, Riley broke through with an OB 9, 18-20 HR card that I think will be a first or second round pick in a lot of 12 team drafts. A pair of key trade deadline acquisitions hit 5th and 6th, particularly Jorge Soler. Unfortunately, the BOT does not yet let us separate parts of season or weigh stats differently, because he'd (roughly and conservatively) be an OB 8, 17-20 HR for his time in Atlanta alone... and arguably could be in the 16-20 range or even an OB 9 with 5 outs on his chart that's got 17-20 HR power. I don't know if Duvall is draftable as an OB 6 for 260 points, but it's sure fun to imagine it! D'Arnaud continues to be a mediocre catcher, but Dansby Swanson followed up on his excellent 2020 card with a solid, draftably 230 pt OB 7 SS card, although many managers would trade some of the explosive pop on his OB 7 chart for more infield defense (he's only +2). 

These eight guys come in at 2100 points, which is extremely reasonable if it were being used to build a typical 5000 point squad! However, it figures to be middle of the pack in the set, although with "Atlanta-only Soler" and Acuna (who played 82 games), it would obviously jump much higher.

Bench: Y'all were worried for a second that there wasn't going to be an Acuna card? Be honest, I had you going, didn't I? Well have no fear, because the star is HERE and he's bringing an amazing 580 point card (with Matt's incredible artwork to boot) to the set as a "Pennant Run" card. We decided to mark guys with lower PA appearances that have foil-level/all-star type cards with "PR" so they're easy to remove if you want a more accurate set to draft from, since smaller sample sizes lead to better cards.... that said, this 580 banger from Acuna is essentially in line with his card if you combine his 2020 and 2021 stats as well, so this is no fluke. Plus it's over 360 PA. If you keep him in, easy first rounder and I'm targeting him ALL DAY -- he's my favorite kind of hitter at OB 10, 17-20 HR AND he gives 4 other xbh options on his chart AND he's speed A. Absolute bargain for 580 points. Also, obviously, feel free to start Acuna (or put him at DH) if you were to simulate a season or play games with this complete ATL teams against other 2021 squads or other historical World Series champions!

Following Acuna are a collection of less-impressive, but still occasionally useful bench pieces. We have to start with Joc, who'd be similar to Acuna if it was "pearl-wearing Pederson" only stats (I say from my memory and not from any statistical basis). He's still got a very good role player card for 5000 point team building -- lots of singles, nice xbh at the end of the chart, and defensive versatility without clogging the basepaths. Similarly, there's a lot to like from Almonte's OB 8 card with doubles starting at 15! After that, the bench gets weak with role players, but they're useful if you gotta shave off points late.... that said, I can't see a world were William Contreras is being drafted. With the normal bench added in, Atlanta's salary rises to 3470 points.

Rotation: It wouldn't be an Atlanta division champion without a strong rotation, and the 2021 edition is led by a pair of Tier 2 studs in Control 5 Max Fried and Control 4 Charlie Morton. Both will be early round targets in many drafts. They're supported by classic Showdown chart, Control 4 on at 17 Ian Anderson and Control 3 on at 18 Huascar Ynoa. This gives Atlanta a potent Tier 2, 2, 3, 3 rotation core. In the fifth spot, there's Control 2, Tier 4 Drew Smyly. Not the ideal fifth starter, but at least he's a no doubles guy. Many would be concerned about the lower IP late in the rotation, but ATL has the bullpen depth to handle it and having two IP 6 studs at the top of the rotation is a big boon to keeping everyone fresh.

The rotation clocks in at 2130 points.

Bullpen: As much as we love the loaded infield or Acuna's star power or the top of the rotation, it was this bullpen that gets the "strongest part of the team" award! Will Smith did not have his best closer season, but his Tier 3 card only gives up one hit... but I see why they upgraded him at the deadline to Richard Rodriguez, a TIER 1 Control 5 lockdown man. Supporting him are not one... not two... but THREE more Tier 2 studs, including a pair of Control 6 pitchers who could easily be stretched to cover a second inning. They also have solid control 4, Tier 3 Chris Martin to provide support, giving them FOUR pitchers of Tier 2 or better and two more Tier 3 pitchers to assist with the load. Truly, this is a bullpen that would not be out of place in the 30 for 30 league, which is saying A LOT (and it's all positive for this team). Rounding it out is Josh Tomlin, who's got an affordable Control 2 card that will help out in blowout games. These seven pitchers come in at a whopping 1380 points!

OVERALL: Atlanta's 26 man roster comes in at 6980 points!! Indeed, this is a really loaded team, especially at the backend. If they had a healthy Acuna all season, I have little doubt this team comes closer to being a Pythagorean 98 win team than the 88 wins they mustered in real life. Now the question is -- where will they rank among other 2021 Showdown squads and what players are you most looking forward to drafting and using in your leagues?