When the Atlanta Braves fired Kevin Seitzer as their hitting coach after the 2024 season, it was the product of the Braves' offense basically disappearing in the closing months of the season. It wasn't fair whatsoever to blame Seitzer, as the lineup lost multiple key cogs to injuries, and other hitters were just clearly not getting the message through their skulls as to how to get back on track. Unfortunately, Seitzer's replacement, Tim Hyers, may be starting to deal with the same problem.
For the first couple of months of the season, the Braves' offense was one of the best units in baseball and was a big reason why Atlanta got off to a great start to the season. However, the lineup started getting more and more banged up, and slow starts from some key players like Austin Riley began to be exposed more and more.
That leads us to the month of June, where the Braves' offense has gone from being one of the best in MLB to one of the absolute worst. While diagnosing what has happened is anything but easy, it might be fair to start wondering if Hyers' messaging and coaching will ever be enough to keep the Braves' offense on track.
At this point, Braves hitters have regressed often enough to make one wonder if hitting coach Tim Hyers is the guy for the job
It is important not to overreact too much to an offensive slump. As manager Walt Weiss said himself, almost all offenses go through stretches like the one the Braves are currently in, and that it usually works itself out. In a sense, he does have a point, but this isn't a problem that can be taken in isolation.
Since Hyers took over the hitting coach job, which Braves hitters have actually improved? You could certainly argue Michael Harris II turned things around, and Drake Baldwin was gangbusters until forgetting how to hit since returning from the IL. Matt Olson has remained a steady lineup cornerstone, and Ozzie Albies has at least looked much better this season, although Hyers shouldn't get too much credit there, given how bad Albies was in 2025.
On the flip side, a number of Braves hitters have gotten actively worse under Hyers' watch. Ronald Acuña Jr. has looked like a shadow of his former self this year when he has been on the field, and Riley's prolonged decline has only hastened with Hyers in charge. Sean Murphy hasn't benefitted, and it is apparently impossible to get a Braves shortstop to actually hit well for longer than a week or two at most. Weiss may have given Hyers his vote of confidence at the start of the season, but those are some important players who are headed in the wrong direction.
Is that fair to Hyers? Absolutely not. Acuña Jr., Riley, and Murphy have all missed extensive time with injuries in recent years, and you can add the current version of Baldwin to that group as well. It is more likely that those injuries are the cause of these offensive doldrums. However, it is on the coaching staff to turn things around and keep the wheels on the track, and right now, it is hard to say that Hyers is doing that. As Seitzer found out, the front office is looking for results, not excuses.
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