Coming into August 12, the Atlanta Braves were at a crossroads. They had just lost back-to-back series to the Brewers and (barf) Rockies and there was a real chance the 2024 season would get away from them. The injuries just kept piling up at a point of the season where finding replacements was basically impossible. Even for a team as deep as the Braves, it just felt like they had lost too much and their chances of making the playoffs were hanging by a thread.
Since that date, a funny thing happened. The Braves have been winning....a lot. Over the next 12 games, Atlanta has gone 9-3 and just secured their fourth straight series win on Saturday despite sporting a lineup that looks more similar to those they used to run out during the rebuild. They still occupy the last NL wild card spot as the teams ahead of them have played pretty well, but they have closed the gap a bit there and have given themselves a 2.5 game cushion over the Mets for that spot. Given the circumstances, fans will happily take that.
How is this possible? Austin Riley getting hurt seemed liked the straw that should have broken the Braves' back. Well, it comes down to the quality of their pitching as well as offensive contributions from a pair of very, very unlikely sources.
The Braves' pitching staff as well as Whit Merrifield and Ramon Laureano may have saved the 2024 season
The first part is easy enough for everyone to understand and see as Atlanta's pitchers have been mostly great all year long. Since August 12, Braves pitchers rank first in all of baseball by a mile in terms of fWAR at 3.6 with the Astros' 2.8 being the next closest.
Chris Sale has led the charge with 1.0 fWAR all by himself thanks to three terrific starts and he seems to be the easy Cy Young favorite right now. There have been other key contributors as well beyond Sale as Raisel Iglesias been insane closing games out and Spencer Schwellenbach would be getting some Rookie of the Year buzz this year if not for his relative lack of playing time and the fact that Jackson Merrill and Paul Skenes exist. Nearly top to bottom, Atlanta's arms have contributed in a meaningful way towards the Braves' success lately.
However, what is even more remarkable is that two seemingly minor additions the Braves made in Ramon Laureano and Whit Merrifield have somehow carried Atlanta's offense. Here are Laureano and Merrifield's numbers over the last 12 games.
AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | fWAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ramon Laureano | .372 | .426 | .674 | 203 | 0.6 fWAR |
Whit Merrifield | .293 | .408 | .463 | 146 | 0.5 fWAR |
To be clear, Laureano and Merrifield haven't been the only contributors at the plate. Marcell Ozuna has been great all year long and has a 169 wRC+ over the same span while Adam Duvall, Travis d'Arnaud, Michael Harris II, and Gio Urshela have all had their moments as well. We also aren't wearing rose-colored glasses over here that the 35 year-old and recently DFAed Merrifield and the consistently inconsistent and often defensively "adventurous" Laureano are going to keep this up indefinitely.
That said, it is wild that both of these guys have been as good as they have been and the Braves would be a far worse position without them. Merrifield was an emergency move by the Braves in the wake of Ozzie Albies breaking his wrist who then hurt his finger in his first workout with the team. As for Laureano, he was a minor league signing back in late May who honestly hadn't done much at all until recently. In some ways, their current run feels a lot like the Braves' additions at the 2021 trade deadline.
Will this success last? It is hard to say. The strength of the Braves' pitching staff does feel sustainable and will keep them in a lot of games the rest of the way. Assuming guys like Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Jarred Kelenic can contribute more down the stretch (which is far from a sure thing), the Braves can absolutely keep pace with anyone. For the moment, fans should just enjoy the unlikely contributions the Braves are getting while they can.