Life has a funny way of constantly presenting unexpected circumstances. The 162 game MLB season is no different and the Atlanta Braves are experiencing that first hand in 2024. Prior to the season, the Braves were the favorites to win the World Series. Now sitting 7.5 games back in the divison and only 3.5 games up in the top NL Wild Card spot, they may be fighting just to make the postseason.
Naturally when a team does not reach expectations a lot of finger pointing occurs. With the trade deadline swiftly approaching, there has been a lot of talk of what the Atlanta Braves need to be successful in October. The usual trio continues to come up during those conversations: a power bat, starting pitching and bullpen help. However, Alex Anthopoulos' time is better spent on only one of these targets.
Offense is all Atlanta needs
Losing superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. who blasted 41 homers last season, drove in 106 runs and posted a batting average of .337 was obviously a big blow to the Atlanta offense. You factor in the recent injury of Michael Harris II and the declining power numbers from 2023 MLB home run leader, Matt Olson and it changes the entire look of the Braves offense.
Jarred Kelenic has done a great job in the leadoff spot recently but his production is still not leading to a big amount of runs scored. The Atlanta Braves currently rank 17th in Major League Baseball in runs scored at 384 which puts them on pace to score about 698 runs this season. To put into persepctive how much of a decline this is, Atlanta scored 947 runs in 2023.
The biggest areas for improvement we could see AA target is the outfield and shortstop position. Recently signing Eddie Rosario feels more like an experiment than a solution. Consistent struggles from Adam Duvall and Orlando Arcia have been highlighted in many of the Braves losses this season. Two potential trade targets AA may call about are Cody Bellinger and Bo Bichette. However, these individuals may not be available or the asking price might be far too high for the Braves.
Braves pitching in 2024
Atlanta's pitching in 2024 has been more than good. As a team (starters and relievers), Atlanta currently ranks 2nd in all of Major League Baseball in ERA at 3.47. Max Fried, Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have all turned in All-Star worthy seasons so far and the bullpen has been impressive as well.
A season ago, if an opponent only scored three runs, it was almost an automatic win for Atlanta. Most of the time, even five runs didn't cut it. Given how well the pitching staff has been in 2024 for the Braves, this could give Alex Anthopoulos freedom to go all in to bring back an explosive offense to Atlanta.
After taking two of three games against the first place Phillies and grabbing a come from behind win in Arizona on Tuesday, the Braves offense is finally showing some signs of life. However, Atlanta still has a lot to prove.
Monday night was the first game since April 17th that the Braves won a game in which their opponent plated three runs or more. Fans are ecstatic about the recent surge of Braves baseball, but now have even higher expectations that Alex Anthopoulos makes a splash at the deadline.