Atlanta Braves Predictions from the Tomahawk Take Staff

Braves MVP

Alan Carpenter: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Jake Mastroianni: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Fred Owens: Austin Riley

Sam Peebles: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Kyle Walter: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Jon Magel: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Matt Melton: Matt Olson

Andrew Cicco: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Payton Wilkerson: Austin Riley

Thomas Ashworth: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Steven Teal: Austin Riley

Trent Dickeson: Ozzie Albies

Ronald Acuña Jr. overwhelmingly runs away with the MVP vote from the writers, despite knowing he will miss a few weeks to start the season. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one.

Personally, I thought we might see more disparity here due to the injury.

Austin Riley comes in second as the Braves MVP behind Acuña Jr. Riley was the obvious MVP in 2021 for the Braves, especially in the second half. His breakout season was huge for the team in the absence of Acuña.

Matt went with his namesake and the newest member of the Atlanta Braves, Matt Olson. Olson was phenomenal in Oakland last year, including launching a career high 39 home runs. Now, in a better park, he may break that career mark in 2022. Also need to mention that Olson is arguably the best defensive first baseman in baseball.

I went with Ozzie Albies as my MVP. I went with a more intangible approach. I would love to see Albies become more of a leader in the Braves clubhouse. If he can take the next step as a clubhouse leader, someone the guys look to on the field and off, then it will be huge for the Braves.

Not to mention he still has another step left to take as a player. Coming off a season where he posted 30 HR, 103 R, 106 RBI, & 20 SB, I think Albies still has another level to his game. 2022 could be the year where Ozzie finally establishes himself as the best second baseman in the game.