5 surprises from the Atlanta Braves early in the 2023 season
All things considered, the Atlanta Braves find themselves in a really good spot through the early portion of the 2023 schedule. They have a healthy lead in the National League East (with some special thanks to the rest of the division being below .500 going into games on 5/16) and there are a lot of things going right and going to plan.
We knew this Braves team was going to be good. There are just too many talented players on the roster for them to not be good. There are some guys on the roster whose performances have been exactly what we thought they would be (or at least what they should be).
However, that doesn't mean that there haven't been some surprises and frankly, that is exactly how things should be. We will always try to do our best to predict what is going to happen, but one of the best parts of baseball is when the unexpected happens and seeing how it impacts the season. Below are six of the biggest surprises from the Braves during the early part of the 2023 season.
Orlando Arcia has been awesome
Look, we were all surprised when Orlando Arcia ended up winning the starting shortstop spot over Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake. Vaughn Grisssom seemingly had the inside track thanks to a mostly successful rookie campaign and Braden Shewmake looked like a much improved player in spring training.
Instead, the Braves bet on Arcia and they have looked like geniuses in doing so. When he has been on the field, Arcia has been a key cog in the offense while being a fantastic defender at short. When Arcia got hurt and Grissom was forced into action, he struggled to impact the ball at the plate and really, really struggled in the field. Orlando has just been great and we are happy to have been wrong here.
AJ Minter has not been awesome
This one is a bummer because AJ Minter has been so good for a long time with the Braves. We took a look a few days ago at what has been plaguing AJ this season and the short version is that several small things combined with some bad luck has led to a really, really rough stretch for him.
And it is a real shame that folks have turned on Minter so quickly, because he has been such an important part of the team's success the last few years. Maybe the pitch clock has given him problems or maybe he is tipping his pitches or maybe he just a little bit off, but no one thought that he would be the bullpen's biggest problem before the season started and he kinda is right now.
Austin Riley and Michael Harris II have struggled
Austin Riley has made runs at real MVP consideration and Michael Harris II is coming off a very impressive rookie season that saw him take home National League Rookie of the Year. The Braves' offense is also second in the league in wRC+ at 116 and they are sixth in the fWAR in 2023. Surely both Riley and Harris would be big parts of that, right?
Nope. Before the Braves' second game against the Rangers, Austin Riley's wRC+ sat a 101 after 182 plate appearances which is decidedly average and definitely lower than you would hope from a guy that you gave a 10 year, $212 million contract extension to last August. Harris has been even worse at a 79 wRC+ with an injury to his back likely not helping his cause much. Both of these guys are talented enough that they will probably be fine, but we certainly didn't think they would have this rough of a start.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is on another planet right now
Okay look, we all know that Ronald Acuna Jr. is capable of a level of greatness on the field that few have ever been. He is as tooled up as any player in the league and we have seen what he can do when he is completely healthy and locked in. He is going to be on MVP watchlists for a long time...no arguments there.
However, seeing him do THIS to the league is something else. Every home run he hits is an absolute no doubter. He is stealing bases at a clip we haven't seen in a long, long time. He cut has cut his strikeout rate almost in half from his career norms. He is gunning runners out with his arm on a regular basis. When he plays, he makes things happen night in, night out. We shouldn't be surprised by what he is capable of, but there isn't a Braves player that makes our eyes go wide and say "wow" as much as he does.
Sean Murphy: MVP candidate?
The wildest part of RAJ's season is that there is a real debate as to whether or not he has been the most valuable player on his own TEAM through the middle of May. When the Braves acquired Sean Murphy in a trade with the Athletics and, for some reason, the Brewers, he was considered to be a pretty strong offensive player and arguably the best defensive catcher in the game. That alone is worth a lot.
However, Murphy has been amazing on BOTH sides of the ball. In addition to being as advertised defensively, Murph has slashed .268/.404/.561 in 151 plate appearances and that with a couple less than great games lately. He's tied with Ronnie with 10 home runs and currently sports a 161 wRC+. One thing that he has going for him that Ronnie doesn't necessarily have when it comes to an MVP case? Being arguably the best defender at his position boosting his numbers through slumps plus the bar for catchers hitting being much lower. He's been a stud and much better than we thought he would be.