As of August 25th, the Atlanta Braves are 71-55, three and a half game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the National League East division. If the Braves continue to win the division, it will mark the 14th consecutive season in which they have done so, an amazing run of success, and a tribute to the organization for looking at the big picture.

No team has continually stocked their system from top to bottom like the Braves have, and amidst a year of numerous injuries in which key players such as Chipper Jones, Mike Hampton, John Thomson and Johnny Estrada have all missed significant time due to injury, the Braves have once again reached to their farm system to procure the talent necessary to maintain their success.

Jeff Francoeur has been the biggest story this season, as he is batting over .350 with 10 bombs in just over 130 at-bats. Some may complain that he doesn't walk enough, which may be indicative of lasting success at the big-league level, but it is hard to argue with his results, and he is far from an overnight success story. Francoeur was a first-round pick, one that should have been selected much higher than with the 23rd overall pick in the 2002 draft. A budding two-sport talent that had an attractive offer to play both baseball and football at Clemson, most teams were turned off by his bonus demands. Not the Braves, who have always drafted and groomed those close to home with great success, and they signed Francoeur for $2.2 million, money that now looks to be more than well spent.

Francoeur isn't the only rookie contributing. He is joined in the outfield by Kelly Johnson and Ryan Langerhans, both filling in for the injured Brian Jordan. Blaine Boyer has been solid in the bullpen, and to a lesser degree, so has John Foster. Wilson Betemit added a solid bat for the infield as Chipper Jones missed more than a month with a foot injury, while Kyle Davies went 6-3 with a 4.56 ERA over 14 appearances, including 13 starts. Brian McCann is hitting over .280 with good power which made losing Johnny Estrada and Eddie Perez easier to swallow.

The Braves also have somewhat of a reclamation project in Jorge Sosa, who has pitched extremely well in the rotation, with an 8-2 record to go along with a 2.63 ERA. Sosa has always had a powerful right arm, and leave it up to pitching coach Leo Mazzone to harness that power while transforming him into a pitcher.

Of course, John Smoltz made a seamless transition back to the rotation, and adding Tim Hudson was a huge acquisition, again, using the young talent within their system to make that trade possible. While Dan Kolb didn't hold down the closer's role like the Braves hoped he would, they went out and acquired Kyle Farnsworth at the trading deadline, and have recently promoted their first-round pick from this year, Joey Devine, to help stabilize the bullpen.

Chipper Jones when healthy has continued to be one of the best run producers in the game, while Andruw Jones is having a monster season as he continues to lead the Majors in home runs with 40. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles create one of the most formidable middle infield tandems, and the ageless Julio Franco is hitting near .300 with a .500 slugging percentage in spot duty.

Overall, the Braves are third in the National League in runs scored and sixth in ERA despite the injuries and the number of rookies playing pivotal roles on their big-league roster. They appear poised to make the playoffs yet again this year, and with budding young stars such as Chuck James, Andy Marte and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, among others, on the way up, it doesn't appear as though that success will let up anytime soon. The Braves epitomize the definition of a successful franchise more so than any other organization over the last 15 years. In an age where parity is becoming a bigger word, the Braves truly are a baseball dynasty.