The Atlanta Braves find themselves 11 games below .500 after suffering a series sweep on Sunday. It's a new low for a team that has struggled to find any consistency from their offense. They'll need to change that if they have any hopes of turning the season around.
However, there was some good news on Sunday as the 2025 MLB All-Star rosters were revealed. Ronald Acuña Jr. had already been voted in by fans, and he is ecstatic to start the Summer Classic in front of his hometown fans.
While there haven't been many impressive performances from the rest of Atlanta's roster, there are a few exceptions. Two of those exceptions will join Acuña in a couple of weeks and represent the Braves.
🚨 ALL-STAR ALERT 🚨
— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) July 6, 2025
Chris Sale and Matt Olson have been selected to the NL All-Star Team, joining teammate Ronald Acuña Jr. in Atlanta!
🔥 Chris Sale – 9th All-Star Selection
5-4 | 2.52 ERA | 114 K | 1.16 WHIP ⚾️🔥
🪓 Matt Olson – 3rd All-Star Selection
.267 AVG | 17 HR | 58… pic.twitter.com/py6Y5L9Alp
Braves stars Matt Olson and Chris Sale named to National League All-Stars roster
It was revealed that Chris Sale and Matt Olson were selected to the National League roster. Sale was pitching like a Cy Young before being placed on the IL with fractured ribs. Olson, who never misses a game, started the season poorly but has quickly corrected course to prove he is one of the best first basemen in baseball.
They are both extremely deserving of the honor, and it provides fans with something positive. Sale earned his ninth All-Star selection. Obviously, he won't appear in the game due to his injury, but it's still nice that he earned the nod.
This is Olson's third All-Star appearance (one with the A's & one with the Braves), and he worked hard to get to this point. His first two months were underwhelming offensively, but once the calendar hit June, he exploded.
In June, Olson batted .313/.427/.510 with a 162 wRC+, and that has carried into July as he's batting .421/.500/.842 with a 261 OPS. Not only that, he's the best defensive first baseman in baseball with 12 defensive runs saved and 8 outs above average.
He may have started the All-Star game had he performed better during the first two months of the season. Regardless, Olson is probably happy to be there, and he can help root for Acuña to win the Home Run Derby.
The only potential Braves snub on the roster is LHP Dylan Lee and even that feels like a stretch. Lee is having one of the best seasons of his career with a 2.27 ERA over 39.2 innings with 10 walks and 41 strikeouts. Maybe he will get his chance in future years, although breaking through as a reliever is tough given the "need" to give every MLB team an All-Star.
Fans can see the entire All-Star roster reveal here. It's going to be a fun-filled week at Truist Park as the Braves host their third All-Star Game in franchise history.