5 Braves on the 40-man roster who won’t survive the 2023 season
By Eric Treuden
Braves who won’t survive the 2023 season: No. 4 Outfielder Sam Hilliard
Sam Hilliard has long felt like someone who was right on the cusp of “figuring it out” at the big league level. A member of the Rockies for the past four seasons, Hilliard has shown off some light-tower-power in his time but can’t make contact with the ball with any sort of regularity to save his life.
Hilliard, 28, has 214 games of major league experience under his belt and has hit 29 home runs in that span. However, he has struck out in just under 33 percent of his career plate appearances and rarely ever draws walks or hits anything other than home runs.
Sure, home runs have their place in today’s game. Honestly, the home run is always going to be one of the more important parts of a baseball game. But with someone like Hilliard, who is quite literally “home run or bust”, there’s very little value in such a profile.
His performance in the big leagues is especially frustrating seeing as how he has annihilated the opposition in the minors at nearly every stop he’s made. In 2019, Hilliard hit 35 home runs and drove in 101 in Triple-A Albuquerque. Last year, he hit 13 home runs with a .308 average in 37 games in Triple-A. The talent is there, but the translation to a big-league field is not.
On defense, Hilliard has shown that he can play at an above-average clip in all three outfield spots but, like Arcia, he is absolutely expendable.
As of right now, Hilliard is at the bottom of the totem pole in the Braves organization and will likely be one of the first to be designated for assignment if any new players are brought aboard. He was only just acquired by the Braves back in November in exchange for minor league pitcher Dylan Spain.