3 Atlanta Braves on track to win major hardware this season

1. Ronald Acuña Jr.

If the season ended today there are zero questions about who the National League MVP should be. When healthy, Acuña has an argument as the best player in the league and it is a pretty compelling one.

Acuña has often been derailed by injuries or by pitchers angrily throwing at the star simply because they couldn’t get him out. Now everything finally seems to be coming together for the Braves star, who is now clearly on track to win MVP.

Part of what makes the outfielder so elite is the fact he is an offense unto himself. Even if a pitcher is lucky enough to illicit weak contact, Acuña is hustling down the line putting pressure on the defense and finding ways to get on base.

Atlanta clearly would be in a far more precarious position in the standings if not for Acuña’s consistent heroics. Whether it is blasting a ball in the second deck or finding a way to get on base and stealing his way into scoring position he is an offense unto himself and clearly is running away with MVP through the first two months of the season. The only complaint here isn’t for Acuña but for the star’s teammates who need to do a better job protecting their franchise player the next time a pitcher decides to take their shot at the star.

2. Spencer Strider

Unlike Ronald, Spencer Strider isn’t running away with any awards, but it is clear Strider is Atlanta’s ace and clearly in the Cy Young discussion. What has felt like an average start to the season for Strider has resulted in an ERA under 3, as well as 86 strikeouts compared to only 18 walks. Strider clearly has ways to improve and still is one of the top five starters in the National League so far this season.

Looking at likely improvement from Strider and expected regression from the rest of the league it is fair to think Strider will only continue to become a larger part of the Cy Young conversation as the season wears on.

Strider is extremely important to Atlanta who now only has Morton and Strider as starters they can rely on. Considering Morton’s age, there is an argument to be made that Strider is now the lone Braves starter with high expectations.

Both Kyle Wright and Max Fried are on the shelf for the foreseeable future, only making what Strider is doing all the more impressive considering the pressure.

Strider isn’t racking up strikeouts against poor lineups nor maintaining a high K rate, even against the best hitters the pitcher faces. There is an easy argument that at the end of the season, Atlanta will have both the MVP and Cy Young winners on their roster.

3. Sean Murphy

While Acuña clearly is far ahead of Murphy right now when it comes to MVP, what the catcher is accomplishing should be noted. As of now, Murphy ranks second in the NL in runs batted in trailing only Pete Alonso of the Mets, and clearly has been the best catcher in the NL thus far.

Adding to this Murphy is top 10 in home runs and accomplishing this at the plate while catching at an extremely high level. There were some obvious questions asked when the Braves decided to move on from one of their catching duo this past offseason to bring in Murphy to a position that clearly was already a strong unit.

As more often than not the Braves GM ended up making the perfect decision and, if not for Murphy, it is fair to think Atlanta wouldn’t be in the position they are in. With slow starts from Matt Olsen and Austin Riley and early pitching injuries, it is scary to think how great this team could be when fully healthy.

If Riley and Olsen both start hitting and Murphy and Acuña continue to produce at this pace, there isn’t any question that this is the best lineup in baseball and Murphy due to his production and position should force his way into the conversation come award season.