The Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball but they are only 13-12 since the All-Star break. The holes in the starting pitching rotation have been starting to leak, despite the return of Max Fried.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Braves Won't Win World Series
Despite the so-so record, some of the players have been dominant since the break. Here are five guys you can't blame the mediocre record on.
No. 5 Best Atlanta Braves Bat Since All-Star Break
Orlando Arcia is having a breakout season in 2023. His selection as the team's starting shortstop at the beginning of the year has been well documented here, including in the article I just linked. Arcia has been a positive influence on the clubhouse, one of the top defensive players on the team, and one of the top overall defensive players (according to Fangraphs' DEF) in the league.
Arcia doesn't strikeout out much and puts the ball in play a lot. He has had several clutch hits this season. He is so good at shortening his swing up and making solid contact when the pressure is on. This season Arcia is hitting .290 with an 0-2 count. He has an .887 OPS when in late and close situations.
Since the All-Star Break, Arcia ranks fifth in bWAR on the team. He has a .306 batting average with six homers, six doubles, 14 singles,15 runs scored, and 15 runs batted in. Since the break, Arcia is sixth on the team in hard-hit rate with over 37% of his balls in play registering an exit velocity of over 95 mph. The five guys in front of the shortstop carry a lot of notoriety with slugging reputations. Hard-hit rate leaders in front of Arcia? Riley, Acuna, Olson, Albies, Ozuna... Insert Arcia Here.
Arcia is slugging .588 since the break with a .375 OBP. If you add those together (is that arbitrary?) You get an OPS of .963 since the All-Star break. Which, by the way, Arcia was your National League starting shortstop in the All-Star Game. That Dansby Swanson guy was his backup.
Also Read: Comparing Dansby Swanson and Orlando Arcia in 2023
For a guy who left the Brewers with a 73 OPS+, these numbers are insane. Arcia is on a three-year deal with the Braves that will take him through his age-31 season. He continues to make the Braves front office look like a Mensa convention.