2026 is not exactly off to a banner start for the Atlanta Braves. The team entered camp with some lingering injury concerns, including Ha-Seong Kim, and then they almost immediately lost Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep to elbow surgeries. Combine those injuries with the rather unfortunate news that Jurickson Profar got caught using PEDs again, and you have a pretty tough situation.
However, not all the news from spring training is bad. Despite their struggles, the Braves have played really well this spring and currently own the best record in the Grapefruit League at 10-3. Mike Yastrzemski has been hitting the cover off the ball, Austin Riley has looked good, and both Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez seem to be healthy and ready to go.
That is enough for Atlanta to build on and for fans to start taking a stab at some bold predictions for the 2026 season.
Here are some bold predictions for the Braves for the 2026 season after their rocky start to spring training
The goal here is to be as specific as is reasonably possible. So many such predictions are almost purposely written as vaguely as possible to give whoever is making them cover or are so outlandish that no one believes them to be even close. That is no fun and not particularly interesting. We will strive to be as specific as possible while explaining why they could actually happen.
Ronald Acuña Jr. will fall just short of another 40/40 season
It is tempting to predict Acuña Jr. to get another 40/40 season. Based purely on talent, Acuña Jr. is one of the few players in baseball who, when projecting such a season, isn't completely crazy given that we have seen a 40/70 season out of him. Now that he is completely healthy and getting a head start on playing in games that count in the WBC, Acuña Jr. having a really strong season feels like a relatively safe bet.
However, we are wagering that Acuña Jr. and the Braves are a bit more pragmatic than that. While Atlanta does have a new coach who is a uniquely good baserunning coach, the Braves want to keep Acuña Jr. healthy coming off of two knee surgeries now, and Acuña Jr. has to think about his future as well. There is no stopping Acuña Jr. from swinging out of his shoes and running around completely, and a 35/35 season may very well happen, but we wager he will fall short of 40/40 in both categories.
Chris Sale will finish third in Cy Young voting
The Braves have had a number of trades turn out well for them, but it is going to be hard to beat just how great the Chris Sale trade was for the foreseeable future. Atlanta gave up an infield prospect, Vaughn Grissom, who became a malcontent with Boston, and they got a guy who ended up winning his first Cy Young award in his first season with the Braves.
The injury concerns with Sale, based on his history, are fair, and him breaking his rib cage diving for a soft infield grounder last year did little to help that reputation. However, Sale seems to be completely renewed in Atlanta and is on the short list for the best left-handed pitchers in baseball. Expect him to be an NL Cy Young finalist in 2026, but to finish behind Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Michael Harris II will put up a 25/25 season and finally begin his star ascension again
Michael Harris II is one of the most frustrating players on the Braves. After winning Rookie of the Year, many fans and experts expected Harris to become the latest young Braves star. While he has shown flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball, Harris' aggressive tendencies at the plate have led to brutal inconsistency with the bat.
Given how he has looked in spring training so far, 2026 could be Harris's year. It took a torrid stretch in the second half last season for Harris to just barely get his first 20/20 season, even though he was one of the worst qualified hitters in baseball for most of the year. Fans should expect Harris to get off to a much better start this season and post his first 25/25 season, although 30/30 is a bit too much of a stretch.
Spencer Schwellenbach will miss the majority of the 2026 season and won't return to form until 2027
Based purely on arm talent, Spencer Schwellenbach is one of the highest ceiling arms in the entire Braves organization. Before breaking his elbow last season, Schwellenbach looked like a pitcher who could cement his place among MLB's elite pitchers in 2026.
Unfortunately, after his elbow healed from his first injury, discomfort from a bone spur shut Schwellenbach down early this spring and required surgery to fix. While some have been holding out hope that he could return by June, that feels like a pipe dream. Not only is bone spur removal surgery more invasive than many will admit, but he hasn't pitched in a game since late June 2025. He is going to require a lengthy build-up even if his recovery goes well. There is still a decent chance he returns in the second half, but fans shouldn't get their hopes up for earlier than that, and we probably won't see Schwellenbach in top condition until 2027.
Braves will barely win the National League East after another late-season Mets collapse
Projecting the NL East right now is really difficult. The division as three teams in the Braves, Phillies, and Mets that could all realistically win, but who all have very real flaws with their rosters. On top of that, both the Marlins and Nationals are good enough to cause some havoc even if they aren't likely to be true contenders.
However, the Phillies' aging roster has some serious concerns on both sides of the ball, and they didn't do much to improve the team last offseason. The Mets brought in a bunch of new players, but most of them were replacements for guys who left, including Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso, who could be very difficult to replace. When the dust settles, we are betting that the Braves will win the division by a game or two on the back of an offensive resurgence and a surprisingly good bullpen.