The Braves are closer to breaking out of their offensive slump than it seems

If there is any positive from the Atlanta Braves' disastrous April up to this point, it is that there are plenty of areas where Brian Snitker's ball club can and should improve. We know that the starting rotation should get better upon Spencer Strider's reinsertion later this week. And while the bullpen may be a season-long issue for this team, the much-maligned offense is not as far off as one would expect.

Through their first 15 games of the season, Atlanta is tied for fourth place in all of baseball when it comes to total number of runners stranded in scoring position at 64. Only the Chicago Cubs (79), Toronto Blue Jays (75) and Boston Red Sox (71) have been worse. Atlanta is tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for fourth in MLB. Conversely, the Texas Rangers are baseball's best in this regard with only 36 runners stranded.

I do not know if this is a direct correlation from Atlanta's new hitting coach Tim Hyers leaving Texas for his hometown team this past offseason, but this only adds insult to injury. Under Hyers, Atlanta seems to be far more willing to play small ball than his predecessor Kevin Seitzer ever dreamed of. The biggest issue for the Braves is they are getting virtually nothing out of the bottom of their order.

There are few stats more indicative of a team struggling to win games than leaving base-runners on.

What can Atlanta do to hang a few more crooked numbers in the days, weeks and months to come?

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How Atlanta Braves can get back winning big because of their offense

Look. For as great as it would be to see the Braves' offense score runs in a multitude of ways, this team was built to dig the long ball, not manufacture runs. It wish it was not so obviously the case, but this is what Braves Country has signed up for by putting all its trust in faith in Snitker, general manager Alex Anthopoulos and, to some extent, Hyers. This team has to win by hitting more homers.

Conversely, when the opportunity presents itself, the team needs to buckle down and be more locked in during crucial spots. Situational hitting is why teams win World Series championships and others do not. Atlanta has the bats and the foot speed to win games with gap power, but it cannot be feast or famine by way of the long ball forever going forward. Simply, this team will need to add more dogs.

I hate to say it, but parting ways with free agents like Freddie Freeman, Joc Pederson and Dansby Swanson in recent years has largely contributed to this team cowering under immense pressure. While I appreciate ace pitcher Chris Sale taking it on the chin for his team, he only plays every fifth day. For all those guys who Anthopoulos paid prematurely, it is time for them to finally be leaders.

Adversity has struck the Braves, but persistence and mental toughness is the only way out of this.