It honestly isn't THAT surprising that the Atlanta Braves are off to a strong start to the season. It is still early, but no one denied that the Braves had the talent to be a real playoff contender, and it was far more surprising that their luck with injuries was as bad as it was the last couple of years. However, the rest of the NL East has been a bit more shocking as the Marlins, who are coming to Atlanta this week, find themselves in second place.
Now, the usual small sample-size warnings definitely apply here. Miami was certainly aided by the fact that they played against the Rockies and White Sox to start the season, which is as soft a schedule as one can have. Just as the Braves' hot start is not a guarantee that they will continue to play this well or stay healthy, the Marlins exceeding expectations could easily end up being an anomaly when we look back after the 2026 season.
However, what this series does do is give Atlanta an opportunity to put the Marlins in their place or give Miami a real opening and their start more legitimacy. Luckily for the Braves, the starter they are up against to start with, Eury Perez, is one that they have had some success against.
The Braves have to be feeling good knowing that they are up against Eury Perez on Monday
Now, the Braves were probably favored to win this series regardless of who the Marlins started on Monday. Having Grant Holmes, Reynaldo Lopez, and Bryce Elder (somehow) going this week against Miami is a pretty strong position to be right off the jump. However, despite Perez having a silly amount of arm talent, the Braves have several hitters who have had real success against him.
No Braves hitter has a lot of experience against Perez, as he has both missed a lot of time after Tommy John surgery and is very young in general. However, despite that lack of experience against him, the Braves have three hitters (Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Drake Baldwin) who have hit at least one home run off of him. Baldwin, who is as hot as anyone so far, actually already has two homers off of Perez. Matt Olson and Dom Smith haven't gone deep off of him yet, but both hitters have had some success against Perez as well.
Of course, this is all theoretical and based on a really small sample. In theory, the Braves should be poised to have a great game against a division rival. However, the Marlins have continued to defy expectations, and Perez is very talented. If the Braves are going to take advantage of this match-up, they are going to have to hold up their end of the bargain as well, and that is not a given.