Top 15 Atlanta Braves Through First Five Months of 2023

2023 has been a special season for the Atlanta Braves so far. Records are being broken left and right with spectacular performances from the entire lineup. Let's' check out 15 of the best Braves players from the first 5 months of the season.

15. AJ Minter

Since the beginning of June, AJ Minter has been lights out. He has 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings, allowing just five earned runs. That is good for a 1.75 ERA and an opponent batting average of .198. He has picked up 13 holds in that time with three saves. Due to his rough beginning to the season, (6.66 ERA through the first two months) his rWAR has been suppressed since Baseball Reference puts more value on runs allowed than FIP. Minter’s fWAR is 1.2 because Fangraphs essentially gives WAR to guys who strike out many people and have good FIPs, regardless of the actual runs allowed. For these reasons, Minter is the Braves’ 15th-best player heading into September. 

14. Raisel Iglesias

Raisel Iglesias didn’t make his first appearance until May 6th. He came out of the gate with a couple of rocky outings. He gave up four earned runs in his four starts. Since those first four appearances, Iglesias has posted a 2.11 ERA with 24 saves and just one blown save. He has struck out 51 hitters in 38.1 innings over that span. He has been effective at both striking batters out (11.9 SO9) and limiting runs (2.81 ERA). Therefore, he has very similar WAR scores from both Fangraphs (1.1) and Baseball-Reference (1.0).

13. Eddie Rosario

Eddie Rosario has been smoking hot lately. He is sitting on 20 homers for the year with a .262 batting average. We won’t talk about his OBP but he is slugging .484. Despite his lowly OBP, he still has an OPS (OBP+SLG) 10% better than the league average. He has 42 extra-base hits on the season with 20 doubles and two triples. That means Rosario is getting an extra-base hit every nine at-bats this year. He has posted a 0.9 rWAR and a 1.3 fWAR in 2023. 

Also Read: 2 Potential Free Agent Upgrades Over Eddie Rosario in 2024

12. Max Fried

Max Fried has started just 10 games for the Braves this season. In those 10 games, he has a stellar 2.85 ERA and a 3.17 FIP. The stud lefty is 5-3 and the Braves have won 70% of his starts this season. Fried has 53 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and has allowed just 11 walks. Fried has a 59.2% groundball rate this season, which is the highest of any season in which he’s made at least 10 starts. In limited action Fried has been our 12th-best Atlanta Braves player this season, if he stays healthy he’s one of the best moving forward. 

11. Marcell Ozuna

Marcell Ozuna had a -0.6 bWAR after the first month of the season. It is assumed that a “replacement level player” could hit better than Ozuna’s .085 average in April. That means he started May in a pretty significant WAR hole. He had a WBR after April, Wins Below Replacement Player. So, judging by the fact that Ozuna is currently rated as our 11th-best player through five months, he’s been pretty good since the beginning of May.

Ozuna posted a .986 OPS in May, .925 in June, and currently has a 1.102 OPS in August. Ozuna is sitting on 28 homers with a .263 average for the season. Since May 1st, Ozuna has hit .294 with a .362 OBP, and a .570 SLG. You take the good with the bad. April was just terrible and he has no defensive contributions. Ozuna has been our 11th-best player this season. He has a 1.8 fWAR so far this year.

10. Orlando Arcia

Orlando Arcia has been an above-average defensive shortstop for the Braves this season. He is also having the best offensive season of his career. He currently has a 106 OPS+ with a .275 average and a .774 OPS. Arcia is one homer away from setting a new career high. He hit 15 homers in 2017 and in 2019, but never more. In 2017, it took him 153 games. In 2019, it took him 152 games. This year, he has 15 homers in just 107 games. Wearing the Braves uniform has changed everything for Orlando Arcia. 

Also Read: Orlando Arcia is ICE Cold. Streak or Regression to the Mean?

9. Michael Harris II

Michael Harris II has bounced back from a very slow start to his sophomore season. Looking at his overall numbers, you wouldn’t know how much he struggled during the first part of the season. Harris currently has a .286 average with a .787 OPS. He has 12 homers and 19 steals in 105 games. He continues to play phenomenal defense in center field.

Despite being one of the most challenging defensive positions on the field, Harris II has been worth five defensive runs saved above the average CF this year. He has tremendous range, ranking in the 89th percentile in OAA. His arm is one of the best in the game, ranking in the 87th percentile. Despite his early struggles, Harris has been the Braves' 9th-best player through the first five months of the 2023 season.

8. Bryce Elder

Bryce Elder is an interesting study on the differences between Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculations. When considering pitching, I prefer BR since they use runs allowed per nine innings rather than FIP in their calculations. FIP is nice but it completely eliminates balls in play from the equation. That’s why guys like Bryce Elder get penalized in Fangraphs’ WAR calculations, despite actually preventing other teams from scoring runs… which is ultimately the primary goal of the pitcher.

I don’t care if it is via strikeout or not. Elder has a 2.9 rWAR and a 1.7fWAR. Why such a contrast? Basically, it boils down to the fact that Elder doesn’t strike a lot of guys out. Regardless of whether this sort of production is sustainable, it has happened. Elder has posted a 10-4 record with a 3.39 ERA through the first five months of the season. Call it what you want, but Elder has put up 143.1 valuable innings for the Braves this season. 

7. Charlie Morton

Charlie Morton has been one of the hottest pitchers in baseball over his past few starts. He hasn’t allowed a single run over his past three starts (18.0 innings). Morton is quieting any doubters who were wondering if he was getting too old. He has a 3.37 ERA over 141.2 innings this year. Charlie has 13 wins on the season and 10 losses. With the injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright this year, the Braves really needed reliability out of Morton and they have received more than they could have hoped for from Uncle Charlie.

Also Read: Michael Harris is Really Better With Strider Starting

3. Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy has already set a new career high in homers and he’s played in just 91 games. His .518 slugging percentage is by far the highest in all of baseball among catchers with at least 350 PAs. Murphy leads all catchers in fWAR with 4.3. Murphy is one of the best all-around players in the game. He’s one of the premier defenders and the best-hitting catcher in baseball. What an asset he has been to the Braves, despite playing in only 91 games so far! 

2. Matt Olson

Matt Olson is having one of the most prolific offensive seasons in Braves history. As of this writing, Olson’s 43 homers are tied for 13th in franchise history with Javy Lopez (2003) and Davey Johnson (1973). He currently leads the league in homers and RBI. He’s one run away from tying his career high of 101, set in 2021 with Oakland. Olson needs nine more home runs to set the single-season franchise record for home runs. His .975 OPS is 56% better than the league average. For most teams, this would be the best player through the first five months. However, the Braves aren’t most teams.

1. Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ronald Acuna Jr. is having one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. The all-time record for most runs scored by a leadoff hitter is 145. Acuna is on pace for 145.55 runs scored. It’s going to be close! Acuna Jr. is on his way to becoming the first player in MLB history to reach 30 homers and 60 steals in a single season. He leads the league in runs scored (115), stolen bases (59), and on-base percentage (.416). What a season the star right fielder is having.

I also want to point out his stolen base efficiency this season. He led the league in CS last season with 11 while only succeeding on 29 swipes. This year he has been caught stealing 11 times again but has 30 more steals. He is the frontrunner for the NL MVP and is having the greatest power/speed season in history. Ronald Acuna Jr. is the easy choice as our top player through the first five months.

Next: 4 Reasons the Braves WILL Win the World Series in 2023