The Braves were eliminated from postseason contention a while back. They were playing in their first season in SunTrust Park and the popular thought process back when the massive rebuild took place was that they wanted to be contending by the time they moved in. That didn't quite happen, but they appear likely to finish in third place and the season brought some good signs. 

Of course, it felt that way by mid-May. The Braves started the season 11-20 and then on May 18, they learned that Freddie Freeman's's wrist injury was a fracture that they expected would sideline him for months. Meantime, expected Rookie of the Year candidate Dansby Swanson hit just .185/.272/.287 through May. 

Regarding Freeman and Swanson's infield, though, things picked up quite a bit down the stretch. 

Freeman returned and has been very good since the injury, but not the world-beater he was in the early going this year. Still, he's above the .300/.400/.500 threshold for the season, just as he was last year. He enters next season as the elder statesmen here, but he'll still only be 28 years old. He's on an eight-year, $135 million deal that runs through 2021, so he's the franchise centerpiece. A very good one at that. 

Swanson actually ended up being sent down to Triple-A Gwinnett for a bit, but his shortstop replacement Johan Camargo injured himself while running onto the field on Aug. 8. The Braves then brought Swanson back to man shortstop and he's started to play like many imagined he would all year. After a few days to re-acclimate himself to the majors, Swanson has hit .290/.397/.389. The lack of power -- sub .400 SLG along with zero home runs -- has to be a slight concern, but he's still very young and that can come with time. 

Swanson was excellent late last season, too, slashing .302/.361/.442, but it was only 38 games and baseball is difficult. It could be that teams adjusted to Swanson early in 2017, which means he was tasked with adjusting back. Struggling a bit as a 23-year-old is pretty normal in the majors. That Swanson is closing this season on a high note bodes very well heading into 2018. Spring training this time around will likely be a lot more comfortable for him, too. 

Second baseman Ozzie Albies came into the season a highly-regarded prospect. MLB.com had him in the overall top 30 while Baseball Prospectus had him in the top 40. He started the season in Triple-A, but has joined the Braves and now played 98 games. Perhaps most importantly, he looks the part. You know how sometimes you can just tell when a guy is a true ballplayer. That's Albies. He's been a quality hitter (.281/.356/.447 slash) with good gap power (eight doubles, five triples, five homers) and has stolen seven bases in eight tries. He's settling in quite nicely with Swanson as a smooth double-play combo, too. 

Utility man Camargo didn't flash a huge offensive profile in the minors, but that doesn't always matter. Things click at different times for everyone. So far in 80 games, he's hit .297/.329/.452. Camargo has played shortstop, second base, left field and perhaps most importantly, third base. In fact, he seems better suited at third than short so far. 

I say "perhaps most importantly" because if the Braves so choose, they could always try to stick Camargo there alongside Freeman, Albies and Swanson as their long-term infield. They could also try to add someone like, say, Mike Moustakas to the group via free agency and use Camargo as a roving utility man with good upside. Then he's there in case of injury or even a sophomore slump from Albies not unlike Swanson's. 

Either way, Camargo has given them flexibility here. 

Oh, and by the way, top outfield prospect Ronald Acuna hit .325/.374/.522 with 31 doubles, eight triples, 21 homers, 82 RBI, 88 runs and 44 stolen bases in 139 games across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A this season. He's only 19, but not far off. 

The Braves have a very intriguing young core of position players, and much optimism stems from a good late season surge from their infield of the present and future. That's why the last six-to-eight weeks of the 2017 season have been very promising in SunTrust Park.