Atlanta Braves Are The Biggest NL Underachievers Of The First Half

Forbes

15-07-2025

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his grand ... More slam home run in the dugout with teammates during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on August 31, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by)
Things haven't exactly gone according to plan for the Atlanta Braves this season, to put it mildly. Boasting one of the more star-studded rosters in the game, they figured to be a prime NL pennant contender, and at the very least a serious threat in the NL East. Even with the likes of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider beginning the season on the injured list, they figured to be in the mix.
The 2025 season could not possibly have gotten off to a worse start. They put themselves behind the eight ball immediately by going 0-7 on their opening west coast trip, and then lost offseason free agent acquisition Jurickson Profar to an 80-game steroid suspension. They never have quite gotten themselves back on the rails, and find themselves an afterthought in the divisional race, sitting at 42-53, way behind the Phillies and Mets and even trailing the Marlins.
Now, this team is better than that. They've actually outscored their opponents by two runs this season, and have a 48-47 Pythagorean record. But their issues are real. Acuna and Strider have been at least somewhat productive since their respective returns, though back soreness is now plaguing the outfielder. Injuries have not relented - their two best starters, Chris Sale (fractured rib) and Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured elbow) are currently on the shelf.
To an extent, injuries cannot be helped. But what about major steps backward from key everyday player like CF Michael Harris II and 2B Ozzie Albies? Harris has looked absolutely lost for most of the season, lugging around a .234 ON-BASE PERCENTAGE at the break. Albies' team-friendly long-term deal is looking a lot less palatable these days, as he's hitting .220 with little tangible evidence of his once-exciting speed game.
Age has taken its toll on a couple of key players as well. DH Marcell Ozuna has endured rough years previously in his career, but at 34, with a sub-.400 SLG and zero complementary skills, the clock may be about to strike midnight. Closer Raisel Iglesias, 35, also has overcome some tough stretches in the past, and his stuff and command still appear mostly intact, but when he looks bad, he looks really bad.
So players get hurt, sometimes regress, and inevitably get old. You can chalk a lot of that up, write off 2025 and still have an interesting, veteran-laden club moving forward if the trains were running on time otherwise.
But the Braves have made a lot of unforced errors this year that have made matters worse.
Shortstop has been the Braves' Achilles Heel in recent seasons, and 2025 has been no exception. Holdover Orlando Arcia began the year at the position, and to no one's surprise, washed out quickly. The club could do no better than Nick Allen as a replacement. Now Allen is a strong defender who can run, but he simply cannot hit. Regardless of what you think of the 'barrels' stat, which represents a well struck baseball based on its exit speed/launch angle combination, you would think that Allen would have mixed in at least one by now. You'd be wrong.
Let's give the Braves a mulligan on the Profar suspension, just for argument's sake. As at shortstop, you still have to hold the club responsible for not having a respectable Plan B in place. Alex Verdugo, Jared Kelenic and Eli White all came up snake eyes. And with Acuna missing the beginning of the season and Harris looking totally helpless at times, there were many days when more than one of those guys had to start. Not optimal.
OK, so not only did Sale and Schwellenbach get hurt, but replacement starter A.J. Smith-Shawver also went down with a torn UCL after showing promise over his first nine starts. With their upper minor league depth worn thin, the Braves' called on 19-year-old Didier Fuentes, who had little experience above A ball. His surface minor league numbers were good, but his K rates were quite low, and as it turns out, were more indicative of his present ability. He has a 13.85 ERA with 29 baserunners allowed in his first 13 MLB innings. Hopefully he hasn't been permanently scarred by the experience.
Things haven't been a total loss in Atlanta - catcher Sean Murphy is healthy and again productive, and fellow receiver Drake Baldwin has proven ready in his rookie campaign, giving the team an embarrassment of riches at that key position. 1B Matt Olson remains a force in the middle of the lineup.
But the minor league pipeline appears thin - any second half surge is going to come from rebounds from injury and poor performance from their current cast. Might the Braves be a deadline seller? It's possible. Iglesias has looked a little better of late, and plenty of teams are looking for pen help. Albies would be an interesting piece to dangle, something unthinkable as recent as a year ago.
But first and foremost, the Braves must get their house in order. Shore up the sinkholes at SS and in LF. The return of Profar hopefully addresses the latter. Get Harris figured out and back on track. A second half surge that propels them into the wild care race cannot be ruled out, but can't be counted upon. This simply isn't the Braves' club of recent vintage to which we have grown accustomed.