The Atlanta Braves are coming off of a disappointing 2022 season that saw the team upset in the first round by their division rivals. While it was clear that the Phillies got hot at the perfect time, the Braves had reason to feel over the course of the entire season they were clearly the superior team.
Despite the rough ending to the season, the Braves are still defending division champs and have reason to believe they can be World Series contenders again a season after winning it all.
For the Atlanta Braves to get back to this level, however, they will need key contributors to step up their level of production in 2023.
This isn’t referring to Matt Olsen, Ozzie Albies, Max Fried, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuña Jr., or Kyle Wright who have all established a level of consistency.
Atlanta is clearly the division favorite with this level of talent alone. However, for the team to win it all they will need unexpected players to step up just as Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario did at the end of the 2021 season.
It wasn’t simply the Braves stars that fueled their World Series run, but unexpected contributors and veterans stepping up their level of production. For the Braves, this needs to happen throughout the 2023 season to contend for another title starting with a veteran who clearly took a step back last season.