Good morning. This is LEADOFF, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
Three sets of "power rankings" this week deem the Braves the worst team in the major leagues, at least for the moment.
The latest weekly rankings by Sports Illustrated, USA Today and Fox Sports peg the Braves No. 30 out of the 30 MLB teams.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com and Bleacher Report have the Braves No. 28 and No. 29, respectively, in their rankings.
A few excerpts from the weekly reports:
SI.com: "Granting that (Mike) Foltynewicz tends to throw his slider when ahead in the count and seeking a strikeout, but hitters have had no chance against that pitch so far this young season. For a Braves team that's going to ride out some rough times during their rebuild, that's a welcome sign of optimism."
Fox Sports: "The Braves have lost six straight, all in the division. FiveThirtyEight projects their playoff chances at 6 percent."
USA Today: "(Freddie) Freeman has nine RBI in spite of seven home runs and a slugging percentage of .810."
The Braves don't think they're as bad as the power rankings, or their 6-12 record, suggest.
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The oddsmakers at SportsBettingDime.com have set all sorts of odds related to this week's NFL draft.
For example:
The over/under on the number of trades that will be made between 12 a.m. Thursday and the last pick of the draft is 25.5.
The over/under on the number of defensive players that will be selected in the first round: 17.5.
The over/under on the number of quarterbacks that will be selected in the first round: 2.5.
To the chagrin of Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky is favored to be the first quarterback drafted.
Running back Leonard Fournette is the favorite to be the first offensive player selected.
And which team’s announcement of its first-round pick will be booed the longest by fans attending the draft? The Cowboys and Giants are “co-favorites” to draw that reaction.
For more odds, click here.
And speaking of the NFL draft, see D. Orlando Ledbetter's list of five players on the Falcons' radar.
