Rivalries are a big part of the fun of baseball, and every team, including the Atlanta Braves, has villains that emerge each season. Some are like Pete Alonso during his time with the Mets, who was a dangerous (and somewhat goofy) hitter on a chief division rival. Others are guys that seem to turn into Babe Ruth out of nowhere when they play the Braves. Some of the cast of characters are pains in the butt for just one season, while others last for their entire careers.
2026 is no different. While the Braves have largely done extremely well this season, there have certainly been a few hitters that have caused more than the usual amount of trouble for the Atlanta professional baseball club.
These hitters have given the Braves absolute fits in 2026
This is not just a list of the top 8 OPS against the Braves or ranking the players with the most hits against Atlanta this season. Instead, this is a healthy sampling from both players that have played a good bit against Atlanta this season, as well as those who may have only played one series against them and went wild during it. In short, 28 players currently have an OPS of 1.000 or better against the Braves this season, and no, we are not going to list all of them.
Francisco Lindor
Francisco Lindor is a familiar face to Braves fans given that he has been with the Mets since 2021, and he has certainly had his moments against Atlanta over the years. While Lindor only has a career .736 OPS against the Braves (which is in the bottom third in his career), Lindor has performed much better against the good guys this season. Through 47 plate appearances against the Braves in 2026, Lindor has a .923 OPS with three homers and eight RBI.
Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper has been one of the Braves' biggest villains going back to his rookie season with the Nationals in 2012. Not only has Harper been one of the best hitters in baseball period over the course of his career, but he has never played outside of the NL East and has posted a .889 OPS against Atlanta overall. While he isn't the hitter he used to be, Harper is still hitting .304 against the Braves this season, and his .868 OPS against them is only slightly lower than his career average against Atlanta.
Manny Machado
Wherever Machado has been playing, he has always given the Braves fits. Machado doesn't have nearly as many games against Atlanta since he played in the American League with the Orioles for a number of years, but the veteran infielder still has a .960 OPS against Atlanta, including 15 homers in his career across 247 plate appearances. However, he has been an even better nuisance than usual in 2026, as he has a staggering 1.234 OPS with four homers in just seven games this season. Let's just hope that the Braves don't have to deal with him much more this season.
Juan Soto
Soto is pretty much in the same category as Harper, as he has been a terror against the Braves since he got to the league, albeit several years after Harper showed up. In fact, Soto's career 1.159 OPS comes in second only to his numbers against the White Sox (1.228 OPS), and he has done so while playing five times as many games against the Braves. 2026 has somehow been worse than usual, which is surprising given how bad the Mets have been. In 32 plate appearances. Soto has put up a staggering 1.542 OPS with three homers. While he hasn't shown as much power against Atlanta as you would think, hitting .500 against a team with a .625 OBP helps the cause quite a bit.
Bo Bichette
Overall, Bo Bichette has been a pretty disappointing signing for the Mets given how hyped he was as a free agent and how he had previously performed. However, while his .262/.309/.379 line overall in 2026 has been mediocre, his production against the Braves has been much better higher, with a .956 OPS, including three of his 12 homers this season coming against Atlanta.
JJ Bleday
Now we pivot to a player in JJ Bleday who has only played three games against Atlanta this season, but what a three-game stretch it was. So far this season, Bleday has gone 6-11 with two homers and four extra-base hits altogether. While the sample is small, Bleday's 1.856 OPS against the Braves is over 300 points better than second place, who also happens to be a player that few fans would have probably guessed.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
With the Red Sox being in the AL, opportunities for Isiah Kiner-Falefa to take on the Braves have been few and far between this year. However, even though IKF has only played eight games against Atlanta in his career so far, he has made a big difference in those games, including in 2026. After going 6-11 with three walks, a double, and a home run this season, the Braves are probably glad that they don't have to deal with him very often.
Daylen Lile
Daylen Lile isn't a name that many Braves fans have committed to memory, given that he wasn't an overly heralded Nationals prospect and he has only been in the league for a couple of years. However, the 23-year-old outfielder has become a key cog in Washington's offense, and one that has been giving Atlanta fits this year. In 11 games against the Braves in 2026, Lile has posted an 1.132 OPS with seven of his 12 hits against Atlanta this season going for extra bases. Walt Weiss may want to revisit their strategy against this kid, because the current one definitely isn't working.
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