A lot of people are responding to the Braves' recent spike with 'oh, well you figured this team wouldn't stay down forever'. Honestly? No Acuna, diminished offensive presence, Lopez and Strider going down, Sale struggling, Snitker in hot water? I kinda thought this would be the gig this year. But, after all, this is still a Braves team, and they're gonna go for it.
The last eight games, the Braves have won seven. The outlier is a big loss against the Cardinals. Last night they even won a game where a guy on the opposing team hit four home runs in four at-bats against them. All of the wins, barring an 8-2 victory over Arizona, have been close. This is a nice start, however I'm not ready to go 'Braves are going to the World Series' or anything.
Here is the thing: some teams can get around having their biggest stars hurt by having productive backups. When Gerrit Cole started last season on the IL, they gave the spot to Luis Gil, and he helped bridge the gap to the postseason. The Dodgers had all their starters get hurt last year, and they still had enough backups to keep them moving. The Braves, instead of starting Lopez and Strider, are currently going with Grant Holmes, a 10-year minor league veteran, and A.J. Smith-Shawver. Holmes, despite finally being MLB ready, is not competitive team ready, and has a 4.50 ERA despite 2 wins. Smith-Shawver is doing better, but at 22 he's still a bit wet by the ears, and hasn't really been eased in as much as he should have. Similarly, instead of Orlando Arcia, who's finally lost his luster, the Braves are starting Nick Allen at short. This is...sort of working? He's alright defensively, but aside from a .273 average he's really nothing special. Just a lil' twerpy guy who gets the job done. And without Acuna, the outfield of Kelenic-Harris-de la Cruz doesn't look very good at all. Kelenic still hasn't figured it out in the majors, and it's looking like the Mariners were right to give up on him. de la Cruz still hasn't picked up an RBI. What a signing that was. Yet I feel like the Braves are regretting that signing less than they're regretting the Profar one.
The things that are working are at the very least encouraging. Austin Riley's off to an excellent start, hitting .300 with 6 homers and 18 RBIs. I was worried about him after an injury ended his 2024, but he looks like he's in great shape, and he and Marcell Ozuna have been leading this team in Acuna's absence. Sean Murphy's been very hot lately, and had a homer last night. Spencer Schwellenbach has been the Braves' most consistent starter so far, and has a 2.56 ERA through 5 starts. And even if Chris Sale has got his ERA around 5, he still has 36 strikeouts. I don't think there's much to worry about, he's just had some rough early starts.
I think this stretch is telling me the Braves, at the very least, aren't a last place team. I don't think they're a FIRST place team either, but they're definitely better than they started the season, and they may have even further to go once some people start coming back.
Coming Tonight: Finally, FINALLY, a former #1 overall pick delivers on the promises.
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