Player Preview: Chipper Jones

Sorry for the late blog today... Anyways, there's not much going on in Bravos-land today. Older news is new news again. The Braves are moving closer to signing both Ken Griffey Jr. and Tom Glavine, but no official statement has been made by either party. 

To kick off this wonderful Tuesday I have decided to start "aBn's Player Preview." Chipper Jones is today's feature. Chipper Jones was selected by the Braves 1st overall pick in the 1990 amateur draft. Ever since then he has become one of Atlanta's most prestigious sports icons. Chipper hit 100+ RBI's for eight-consecutive season (between 1996-2003), but his streak came to a halt while Chipper was battling injuries in '04. In 1999 Chipper was awarded the league MVP. Chipper hit his 400th HR off Marlins SP Ricky Nolasco June 5, 2008. 

The past three seasons Chipper has had an OPS higher than 1.000 and batting average higher than .320. Chipper has battled injuries throughout his career. If Chipper can stay healthy this year he is capable of hitting 20-25 HR's, 100RBI's while maintaing a .320-.330 avg. and 1.000 OPS. Chipper is key to the Brave's success this year. He is one of the few experienced veteran bats the Braves will have in their lineup and can definitely help mentor young guns like Jordan Schaffer, Yunel Escobar, Brian McCann and Casey Kotchman. A healthy Chipper Jones can be a huge asset to a our defense and offense.