Watching the Braves’ first six games of the year, it’s hard to really seize on any one thing that cements their identity as distinct from other teams, or the Braves teams that have come before. Not that these things have to come in the first six games, and sometimes, even if they do, it’s not clear that they’re going to be a throughline for the entire season. But, it’s certainly possible — Nick Markakis’ Opening Day walkoff in 2018 was I guess an early sign of the ridiculous team of destiny that particular Braves squad was going to be, the Braves clobbered their opponents in three of their first four games in 2023, Sean Murphy got hurt on Opening Day 2024, the 0-7 start to 2005, you get the idea.
This team so far, though… I don’t know. Any ideas? They’re top ten offensively in both outputs and inputs, but that’s come due to a lot of walks and barely any strikeouts… and the guys that are walking a ton aren’t hitting, except for Drake Baldwin. I guess “Team of Drake Baldwin” is an early contender, as he’s been scorching through these first two series. Another standout aspect so far has been the defense, but that’s about it. The Braves are also a top-ten pitching team, but not in a remarkable way, unless you factor in the defensive contribution to run prevention. And, of course, there’s a potential identity to be mined in “has absolutely no idea what they’re doing on the bases,” but I hope they course-correct there soon.
There’s also the overarching narratives of the pitching staff being barely held together, but that at least hasn’t gotten worse yet. Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes both looked rough here and there, but the Braves didn’t really suffer for it, not yet — and Bryce Elder had a patented Good Elder (Bryce Eldar) start.
Anyway, I guess you can make your predictions here. How will we remember this team in terms of what it did, whether on the field or off?
