With the start of spring training comes the time-honored tradition of Atlanta Braves fans and baseball fans in general overreacting to impossibly small and borderline irrelevant samples. You haven't truly lived until you have seen actual adults that think that the upcoming season is already over because a Double-A journeyman minor leaguer that was never going to be in the majors cost their team a spring training win.
Spring training results DO tell us some things. Most obviously, they let us know which Braves players are healthy, but they also give us a sense of which hitters are seeing the ball well early and which pitchers are further along in their build-up than others. It is one of those situations where you like to see good results, but you don't want to make too much of bad results as guys are still working on things big and small especially in the early portions of camp.
Here are the Braves that are not having strong camps, but will probably be fine
Atlanta has a number of players that are off to great starts in spring training. Spencer Schwellenbach has been shoving thus far, Chris Sale has looked borderline unhittable, and the Braves have a number of hitters that have an OPS north of .900 early on in camp and we love to see how. However, a couple of familiar names have been a bit slow to get going so far, although both players have the pedigree where fans shouldn't hit the panic button just yet.
Ozzie Albies
Braves fans are well-acquainted with Albies' streaky nature at this point. He will have a month where he is basically a non-factor at the plate and cause fans to twitch as he swings at the first pitch in every at-bat. The next month, he will look like a MVP candidate who can single-handedly carry the offense. It usually all averages out in the end especially if he is healthy, but Albies' production can certainly be a rollercoaster.
So far in spring training, Albies has not looked good. In 12 plate appearances, he is slashing .091/.167/.091 which is both a very small sample of playing time and also quite a poor showing. However, it is early enough and Albies is certainly knocking off some rust not only from the offseason, but from his injury issues last season. It would probably be unwise to bet against a guy who is a three-time All-Star and one of the best second basemen in baseball when he is on the field.
Ozzie Albies and the @Braves strike first! pic.twitter.com/VuXBwZvuCv
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2024
Michael Harris II
Expectations were high for Michael Harris II coming into camp. Thanks to an all-around skillset that makes him a threat to put up a 25+/25+ season while winning a Gold Glove, many think that Harris could end up being a catalyst in the Braves' lineup for years to come. We haven't gotten the chance to really see what he can do with a full, healthy season yet and that prospect is legitimately exciting.
Unfortunately, the start of 2025 is not going particularly well for Harris. Harris has gotten a bit more playing time thus far in camp with 15 plate appearances in six games, but he has still only managed a .143/.200/.143 line thus far. Again, it is crazy early and it is going to be far more interesting to see if he changes his approach in order to draw more walks in 2025 than to see where his spring numbers end up. However, spring does indeed tell us something about where guys are and it is worth keeping an eye on Harris as well as Albies while hoping their early spring struggles are not the canary in a coal mine and indicative of a bigger problem.