The Braves have a 24-23 record and are 5 games back of the Mets in the NL East race after an 0-7 start in which things went from bad to ugly in remarkably quick fashion. That said, there are now reasons for optimism regarding a potential postseason run. Obviously, over 100 games remain in the regular season before the Braves arrive at that point, but the fact that the team has put themselves into this position in the first place is rather impressive as everything that could go wrong has gone wrong so far. Without further ado, let’s look into some reasons for optimism regarding the Atlanta Braves and a potential playoff run that seemed unfathomable at the start of the year.
The team has finally cleared the .500 mark after an 0-7 start
The Braves became the 30th MLB team since 1901 to start the year with an 0-7 mark. None of the previous 29 teams made the playoffs, while only two finished over .500. That’s why it was so important for the Braves to finally vault themselves above the dreaded .500 mark on Tuesday, and to then clear it once again on Sunday afternoon.
There aren’t any assurances that eclipsing the .500 mark will equate to a postseason berth; however, the psychological benefits of chasing down the .500 mark and then surpassing it twice in one week are important for team morale both now & later on. After all, it took the 2021 Braves team until August 6th to finally break through their .500 barrier, & we all know how that turned out as the team rallied towards October.
Starting pitching rotation has risen out of an early-season funk
Through the beginning of May, the starting pitching rotation of Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, AJ Smith Shawver, and Bryce Elder looked mediocre. At the time, there were genuine concerns regarding Sale’s velocity, Schwellenbach’s regression, & Smith Shawver’s command, with all three of them struggling mightily. Holmes and Elder also seemed out of place, with the former looking as though he might fit best in the team’s bullpen & the latter looking like he might belong in AAA.
Fast forward to the middle of May, and all five of the starters were given two further turns through the rotation, and these ten performances were mostly phenomenal. In fact, the team’s pitching staff as a whole is 10-7 with a 2.95 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 155.1 innings during the month of May thus far, with data courtesy of Statmuse. Bryce Elder has an impressive 3.10 ERA over his past five starts, yet he was the odd man out on Thursday as he was optioned to provide a roster spot for a new pitcher…
Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are set to return from injury soon
Spencer Strider will start Tuesday’s game against the Nationals after a month-long stint on the team’s injured list while recovering from his strained right hamstring. This is exciting news for the team’s starting rotation, which as I mentioned earlier was already on quite a roll before adding a Cy Young-caliber player back into the mix. Assuming that Strider returns to pre-injury form (or anywhere close to that altitude) the Braves starting rotation could establish themselves as the best in all of baseball.
Don’t look now, but Ronald Acuña Jr. could be set for his triumphant return right on the heels of Spencer Strider’s activation from the injured list on Monday afternoon! In fact, the tentative expectation is that he’ll be ready to play during the team’s next homestand, which begins on Friday with a key three-game series against the Padres. As you may recall, the team’s 0-7 skid to start the season began with a throttling by the Padres in San Diego, so the Braves are due for payback. Get your popcorn ready.
Craig Kimbrel and Jesse Chavez are ready for action as bullpen reinforcements
But wait… there’s more as much-needed reinforcements to the team’s bullpen are on the way in the form of fan-favorite veteran relievers Craig Kimbrel and Jesse Chavez. These reinforcements are desperately needed, as the trio of Aaron Bummer, Enyel De Los Santos, and Rafael Montero cost the Braves two games just in this past week. Quite frankly, I’m not quite sure why the team hasn’t called up Kimbrel at this point.
Taking stock of all the hype and circumstance
The Braves have made watching baseball fun again after a disastrous start to their season that would have derailed most other MLB teams save for maybe the Dodgers. Will the surprising return to relevance coincide with a return to the playoffs in 2025? It’s probably still way too early to tell, but the fact that any of us are even having the discussion just goes to show how resilient this Braves team has already been in 2025. Maintaining that level of resilience will prove difficult, but with some much-needed reinforcements possibly on the way, a Braves postseason run is a distinct possibility.
The Sports Beacon 