We don’t have to go back too far to identify the last truly great Atlanta Braves collection of offensive talent.
In 2023, they tied the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the single-season home run record, with 307 long balls.
They had Ronald Acuna Jr. with 41 dingers, Matt Olson with 54, and three other players with at least 30.
It’s amazing how things can change on a year-to-year basis in MLB, the most difficult baseball league in the world.
Codify Baseball illustrated a harsh reality for the Braves.
Since April 24, they have scored the fewest runs in the league.
Yes, we are shocked, too.
A few factors have combined to yield this unexpected result.
Yes, Acuna’s knee injury (a season-ending one) was a huge blow, but he wasn’t lighting the world on fire with a .716 OPS.
In fact, apart from Marcell Ozuna (.987 OPS), no one in Atlanta is performing as expectations would indicate.
After Ozuna, the next-best player by OPS would be catcher Travis d’Arnaud, at .765.
No one on the Braves, besides Ozuna, has cleared the .800 OPS threshold.
That’s shocking on many levels, since Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Jarred Kelenic, Sean Murphy and other top performers are still in their prime.
Yes, some of them have suffered injuries and have been limited by them, but still: no one in Atlanta expected this.
As a result, the Braves are currently 35-28 in the standings, second in the NL East.
That’s not a bad record, but knowing the talent on the roster, they are capable of much more.
Atlanta is, at the moment, a whopping nine games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the division lead.
Their offensive woes have prevented them from reaching their ceiling.
