Every single season, teams are pleasantly or upsettingly surprised with a few players' performances. The Atlanta Braves have built a roster of players we expect greatness from, but that doesn't exclude them from getting a unexpected boost every now and then.
Last season, Spencer Schwellenbach jumped into the big league rotation and put together an impressive rookie campaign no one had on their bingo cards in February. During the 2023 season, Orlando Arica broke out for an All-Star worthy first half. Which Braves player is set to surprise fans in 2025?
We've already shared our predictions on who we think will be the Braves' MVP in 2025, but today our team here at House That Hank Built gave their predictions on who we think will be the Atlanta Braves biggest surprise in 2025.
SEAN MURPHY TIE GAME#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/MsN6wktNjF
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 9, 2024
Which Atlanta Brave will be the biggest surprise in 2025?
Nick: Ian Anderson - Anderson is likely going to get a shot to stick in the rotation and will make the most of his chance. It shouldn’t be overlooked that Anderson had two great seasons with Atlanta. Fans forget just how impressive the pitcher was in eight postseason starts in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Finally healthy this is the season Anderson turns back the clock and becomes a part of Atlanta’s core once again.
Fred: Probably a pitcher like Daniel Davis or AJSS gets called up to help in relief and make it impossible to send them down. I suppose Kelenic could shock the world and have more than a couple of good months before vanishing or Arcia doesn’t strike out..nevermind, that’s a dream. It wouldn’t be a surprise for any of the others to have a great year, I expect Harris to do that and Olson to bounce back, otherwise, I don’t expect a surprise.
Mitchell: Sean Murphy - I think a lot of fans have forgotten how good Sean Murphy can be. He was certainly disappointing last year, but having an oblique injury that knocked him out for 2 months earns him a little more grace.
Chase: Sean Murphy - I think a lot of fans foolishly wrote Sean Murphy off too quickly after an outlier year in 2024. Being healthy in 2025, and playing more regularly (let’s hope) will benefit Sean to the point where I think he finishes with a 120ish wRC+ and 4 WAR season.
Eric: Hurston Waldrep - I want to pick Orlando Arcia here as the expectations for him are impossibly low. However, I will go with Waldrep as I think people are sleeping on him after a less than stellar MLB debut. That splitter is absolutely nasty, although it is perfectly fair to say that he needs to make a significant adjustment with his fastball for me to be right here.
Steven: Daysbel Hernandez - I think Hernandez is going to surprise people this year. He will be needed with Joe Jimenez on the mend all season. His advanced stat line was impressive last season in the limited MLB action he saw. He had a 2.50 ERA over 16 MLB games with 10 BB and 26 K. The Cuba native also impressed at Triple-A with a 2.59 ERA over 33 games, including 25 walks and 52 strikeouts. If he can improve his walk rate, he will be a massive addition to the bullpen.
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