Just two years after setting a Major League Baseball team record for slugging percentage, the Atlanta Braves has become a shell of itself despite having most of the same players.
The regression actually started last year, when the Braves fell from first in MLB in runs to 15th, but much of that could be attributed to injuries to star players like Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. This year, however, the Braves have been mostly healthy aside from catcher Sean Murphy spending the first few weeks on the injured list and Acuña Jr. not returning from his ACL injury until mid-May, and they have even gotten a boost from rookie Drake Baldwin, who has hit .315 with a .880 OPS. Yet the Braves have become an even worse offense than last year, dropping to 23rd in runs scored and ranking in the bottom half of the league in average and OPS.
Aside from designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, many of the Braves veterans have only continued their career freefall. Three-time All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies has a career-worst .646 OPS, while center fielder Michael Harris is even worse at .586. First baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Austin Riley have kept their OPS above the league average, but they are both well short of their 2023 production. Finally, the club has gotten no production from shortstop Nick Allen (.260 slugging percentage) and Alex Verdugo (0 HR, .629 OPS), resulting in one of the weakest bottom-of-the-orders in baseball.
The common consensus was that the Braves lineup would catch fire upon the return of Acuña Jr., but while the former Most Valuable Player Award winner has exceeded expectations, things have only gotten worse for the rest of the team. The Braves have scored just 11 runs in five games against the struggling Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitching staffs, going 1-4 in that span and dropping their record to 27-33.
With no more superstars set to return from injury, it’s difficult to see how the Braves offense will improve, and ESPN’s David Schoenfield believes that will ultimately keep them from extending their postseason streak to eight seasons.
“In a top-heavy NL, the Braves have dug themselves a hole and I don’t see the offense suddenly starting to light up the scoreboard,” Schoenfield wrote.
Even if the Braves offense does turn back the clock, the rest of the Braves roster is far from flawless. Ace Spencer Strider has struggled mightily since returning from Tommy John surgery, promising right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver just underwent his own season-ending surgery, and Rasiel Igleisas has been a disaster in the closer’s role.
More MLB: MLB insider believes surprise Padres trade piece could shape deadline
