Things in sun splashed North Port, Florida – spring training home for the 2023 National League East Division champion Atlanta Braves – are heating up.
The Braves, arguably the most offensively potent team in all of baseball last season, conducted their first official team workout of 2024 earlier this week, officially beginning their quest for their fifth World Series title in franchise history.
Atlanta, which finished with an MLB-best 104-58 record last season, has spent the entire offseason retooling its roster and reloading its psyche, gearing up for yet another run at baseball’s most coveted prize.
Braves players, fans and members of the local and national media have not been shy about heaping sky-high expectations on the team that’s loaded with long ball hitters, speedy base runners, contact hitters who hit for high average and dominating power pitchers.
In fact, Atlanta’s projected starting lineup is so loaded and athletically accomplished, it reads like a Who’s Who of the best players not only in the National League, but in Major League Baseball.
When the Braves travel to Citizens Bank Park March 28 to face the Phillies on Opening Day in Philadelphia, they will begin the long and arduous journey of trying to reach the postseason, giving themselves yet another chance to earn a different outcome than the nightmarish one they experienced last season when the Phillies took them out in the National League Divisional Playoffs.
“It’s all I’ve thought about,” said Braves power pitcher Spencer Strider, who last season ascended to the top of Atlanta’s sparkling starting pitching rotation. “That’s the conversation we’ve had as a team…whether it’s in groups or one-on-one throughout the offseason, it’s just ‘How do we put ourselves in a position to have a better outcome in the postseason?’
Strider and several of his teammates believe the Braves must set the bar as high as possible in 2024 and that anything less than a World Series championship should be viewed as a disappointment.
“I think there should be no acceptance of anything less than winning a World Series in this organization,” Strider said. “I believe it. I’m biased, but this is the most talented team in baseball.”
Strider, who tossed a career-best 186 2/3 innings last season en route to breaking John Smoltz’s single-season record for most strikeouts in a season (281), has a point.
The Braves are loaded and made a series of strategically solid moves this past offseason. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, always on the hunt to improve the team, restocked the bullpen with power arms, signed former New York Mets top draft pick Jarred Kelenic to play left field and made a trade with Boston to acquire former Red Sox star Chris Sale – a move which made an already lethal pitching staff that much stronger.
The best offense in baseball from last season returns almost every key contributor which includes speedy outfielder and four-time National League All-Star Ronald Acuna, Jr., three-time All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies, 2023 MLB RBI leader Matt Olson, two-time NL All-Star third baseman Austin Riley, 2022 NL Rookie of the Year outfielder Michael Harris II and 2020 NL HR and RBI leader Marcell Ozuna, just to name a few.
Anthopoulos bolstered the bullpen with high velocity, lefties, righties and power pitching relievers.
Prior to the Sale trade, Atlanta was projected to be the third best starting rotation in the game according to several MLB experts…but now, it’s slated to be the best in baseball.
Atlanta’s offense was arguably the top performing unit in all of baseball in 2023.
You don’t compile a .642 winning percentage without being a team that produced a ton of on-base traffic, timely hitting, home runs and stolen bases.
One of the signature hallmarks of the 2023 Braves was their quick-strike offense which enabled them to jump out to early leads against their opponents. Atlanta’s 146 runs scored in the first inning of games last season was the second most in Major League Baseball history, only eclipsed by the St. Louis Cardinals, who scored 147 runs in the opening frame of the 1974 season.
Acuna, Jr., finished the 2023 season hitting .337, 41 home runs, 106 RBI, an eye-popping 73 steals, 217 hits, 149 runs scored and 383 total bases. Each of the latter four statistical categories led Major League Baseball.
The Braves also hit a lot of home runs in 2023. In fact, Atlanta became the first MLB team in League history to hit 300 home runs (MLB-record 307) and steal 100 bases (132) in the same season.
If they are able to generate that kind of offensive production in 2024, they will arguably give themselves a strong chance of one again returning to the Fall Classic and maybe even winning their fifth World Series title.
Should be fun…stay tuned.
Braves Fact Box
Ronald Acuna, Jr., RF – 4-time NL All-Star (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), NL MVP (2023), NL ROY (2018), 2-time NL stolen base leader (2019, 2023)
Ozzie Albies, 2B – 3-time NL All-Star (2018, 2021, 2023)
Matt Olson, 1B – 2-time NL All-Star (2021, 2023), MLB HR leader (2023), MLB RBI leader (2023)
Austin Riley, 3B – 2-time NL All-Star (2022, 2023)
Marcell Ozuna, DH – 2-time NL All-Star (2016, 2017), NL HR leader (2020), NL RBI leader (2020)
Sean Murphy, C – 2023 NL All-Star
Michael Harris II, CF – NL ROY (2022)
Jarred Kelenic, LF – Drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft (Seattle Mariners)
Orlando Arcia, SS – 2023 NL All-Star
