The Good and Bad for Atlanta Braves Through First Ten Games
The Atlanta Braves looked like World Series champions through the first seven games of the season, showing what makes them such a dangerous team.
But the last three games are an example of the high-and-lows of a 162-game Major League Baseball season.
While the depth for the Braves is solid, the injuries are become too much to overcome against great competition like the San Diego Padres.
Now that we're into double-digit games played, let's take a look at the good and bad through the first 10 games of 2023.
The Good
Ronald Acuña Jr. has to be the best part of the early season for the Atlanta Braves. Matt Olson and Austin Riley have been great as well and currently have higher OPSs, but we're finally seeing a fully healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. again.
It's not just that Acuña is slashing .310/.396/.500 in 42 at-bats, it's that he leads the National League in runs scored and stolen bases.
He's flying around the bases.
And even more than that, it's his defense where he already had 3 outfield assists and has made a leaping catch against the wall to rob Juan Soto of a hit.
If this is the version of Acuña the Braves are going to get all year, we're in for a real treat.
But including Olson and Riley, the Braves three MVP candidates have been getting it done atop the lineup.
If you wanted to look at one good start for the offense as a whole, it's that they've drawn the fourth most walks.
Outside of that, this team has not been the dominant, slugging offense we thought it would be ... yet.
On the pitching side, Spencer Strider still looks like Spencer Strider through 2 starts with a 2.45 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 11 innings.
A.J. Minter continues to look like one of the best relievers in baseball with 0 earned runs allowed in 5 innings with 5 strikeouts.
Nick Anderson has been a pleasant surprise with 6 strikeouts in 3.2 innings with his only hit allowed being a solo shot by Paul Goldschmidt.
And Jesse Chavez continues his magic in a Braves uniform.
The Bad
Outside of the injuries, the Braves have been really bad with runners in scoring position (RISP) to start the year.
In the last three games alone they are 3-26, and on the year they rank 23rd with a .238 average.
That's a stat that typically evens out over the course of a season, but it's something to point out in the early going that they've been really bad at.
Ranking 17th in slugging percentage for this powerful lineup is considered bad. The Braves ranked first in slugging last year with a .443 average. Right now they're at .416.
That's something that figures to go up dramatically as the lineup gets healthy and warms up.
Looking individually at the hitting side of things, Sean Murphy, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, and Eddie Rosario are all off to slow starts.
The middle of the order all slumping at the same time to begin the year is really what is holding this offense back. Atlanta needs those players to step up and help Orlando Arcia and the top of the order.
The Braves starters rank 16th in ERA and have pitched the 15th most innings. That also figures to get better once Max Fried and Kyle Wright join the rotation.
Perhaps the most concerning stat for this team early on is the number of walks the pitching staff has allowed.
They currently rank 22nd in BB/9 at 4.15 -- that's a walk more a game compared to last year.
Both starters (4.44) and relievers (3.79) have been bad at issuing free passes.
Individually, Charlie Morton has just been OK to start the year but still seems to be fighting command at times.
Jared Shuster hasn't been up to the challenge yet, and Dylan Dodd perhaps got exposed against a good lineup on Sunday night.
The Braves gave up a lot for Joe Jimenez and he's pretty much been a non-factor in high-leverage spots so far.
Lucas Luetge and Kirby Yates are off to rough starts and have been forced into bigger spots because of the injuries in the bullpen.
Ten games is still a really small sample size, but it gives a clearer pitcher of where the Braves strengths and weakness are to begin the season.
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