Six Takeaways From the Atlanta Braves’ 2025 Season

In the 45 games he appeared in before the All-Star break, Acuña Jr. slashed .323/.435/.590 with a 1.025 OPS and 183 wRC+. By season’s end, he finished 19th in average (.290), second in OBP (.417), 18th in SLG (.518), sixth in OPS (.935), fifth in wOBA (.403), and sixth in wRC+ (161) among players with a minimum of 400 PA. In other words, a return to MVP-caliber production.

This performance was a vast improvement upon his first season back from his initial ACL injury in 2022.

Now with 95 games under his belt and a full offseason ahead, Acuña looks primed to again challenge the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in the NL MVP race.

Offensive Inconsistencies

While Acuña’s return provided a spark, the rest of Atlanta’s offense struggled to find its footing for most of the year.

Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies both endured brutal first halves, ranking among the league’s worst qualified hitters. Though both rebounded after the break, it was too little, too late.

Austin Riley missed at least 50 games for the second consecutive season. Across his last two seasons, he has posted just 4.1 fWAR after a massive 16.2 fWAR stretch from 2021–2023.

Marcell Ozuna never fully recovered from an early hip injury, greatly limiting his offensive production. A carousel of fill-ins like Luke Williams, Vidal Bruján, Stuart Fairchild, Bryan De La Cruz, Jarred Kelenic, and Alex Verdugo failed to produce consistent results.

Defensively, Nick Allen provided a Gold Glove-caliber season, but his offensive struggles were severe. He ranked in the fifth percentile or worse in most key metrics and failed to record a single barrel in 416 plate appearances.

There were bright spots, however.

Jurickson Profar, once reinstated, added a legitimate boost to the lineup with a .787 OPS and 122 wRC+. Matt Olson played all 162 games, extending his ironman streak to 782, the longest current active streak and 12th all-time. He posted a steady .850 OPS and 117 wRC+ even without his trademark power.

The bottom line is simple. The offense has to be better. A legitimate shortstop upgrade, a new DH, and, above all, better health will be essential if the Braves want to return to October.

The Emergence of a Trio of Prospects

Amid the frustration, a new wave of young talent emerged.

AJ Smith-Shawver earned a rotation spot out of spring training. After pitching his way up from Single-A to the big leagues in 2023, he experienced struggles in 2024. This season, he looked like a legitimate mid-rotation arm, posting a 3.86 ERA, 3.90 FIP, and 22% K-rate. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in June. His return in 2027 will be eagerly awaited.

Hurston Waldrep, once plagued by control issues and cast aside by many fans, turned things around in 2025. With a refined pitch mix and improved mechanics, he limited hitters to a .228 average across nine MLB starts, with a 3.02 ERA and 9.1 K/9. He should be all but penciled into the 2026 rotation.

And then there’s Drake Baldwin, arguably the breakout star of the season. After a Spring Training injury to Sean Murphy, Baldwin seized his opportunity, slashing .274/.341/.469 with an .810 OPS, 125 wRC+, and producing 3.1 fWAR in his rookie campaign.

While Cade Horton enjoyed an elite finish to his season, Baldwin has a strong case to become Atlanta’s next Rookie of the Year winner.

These three highlight a recurring theme: Even though Atlanta’s farm system has been consistently ranked as one of the worst in all of baseball, the Braves continue to develop MLB-ready talent. Health permitting, these young players will be foundational pieces moving forward.

Change in Draft Philosophy

Though less visible, 2025 marked a significant philosophical shift in Atlanta’s draft approach.

For the first time since 2019 and just the second time since 2015, the Braves selected a position player in the first round. In recent years, Anthopoulos had loaded up on pitching, building a foundation that produced MLB arms like Strider, Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, Waldrep, and prospects such as JR Ritchie, Owen Murphy, and Cam Caminiti.

This year, the Braves pivoted. They still followed their pattern of early under-slot selections, allowing them to pay up for prep prospects in the later rounds. However, they used their first three selections on shortstops in Tate Southisense, Alex Lodise, and Cody Miller. The Braves later added a high-upside prep pitcher in Briggs McKenzie, signing him away from LSU. In all, they drafted eight position players, including six in the first ten rounds.

For some fans, this might seem minor. But for those following the organization closely, this reinvestment in position-player depth was long overdue. With the sixth-best lottery odds for the number one overall pick in 2026, and a potential Prospect Promotion Incentive pick if Baldwin wins Rookie of the Year, Atlanta could add even more high-end talent to its system next summer.

Lack Of Offseason Aggression

After a disappointing 2024 season and an early postseason exit, Alex Anthopoulos stated that the Braves would be active in the offseason and were willing to go into the tax if the right opportunities arose. Yet, as the weeks progressed, one free agent after another came off the board, and a big move never materialized.

Atlanta’s most notable signing was Jurickson Profar, who, after serving his suspension, performed quite well. This was a signing I believed in, and I still believe in it going forward.

Beyond that, the 2024-25 offseason felt underwhelming.

The bullpen clearly needed improvement, as veterans like A.J. Minter, Tyler Matzek, and Jesse Chavez all left the team, and Joe Jiménez was already out for 2026. What the Braves did, however, was attempt to rebuild the ‘pen with low-cost veterans like Héctor Neris, Wander Suero, Chasen Shreve, Angel Perdomo, Jake Diekman, and others.

This experiment largely failed, as the group flopped early, and the majority did not last long with Atlanta. The bullpen struggled all season long.

Atlanta also passed on adding a reliable rotation arm, despite obvious durability concerns. Strider never looked fully healthy, López went down immediately, and Sale, Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, and Holmes all missed major time. The results were predictable with too many innings from too many inexperienced arms.

In the outfield, with Acuña sidelined early, the Braves rolled with a platoon of Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic, neither of whom panned out. Depth pieces like Eli White, Alex Verdugo, Luke Williams, Stuart Fairchild, Vidal Bruján, and Jake Fraley cycled through with limited to no impact.

By mid-season, it was clear the offseason had been a failure, and a quiet trade deadline all but confirmed it. Still, with the CBT now reset, there’s optimism that Anthopoulos will return to his trademark aggressiveness this winter. The core remains championship-caliber, but complementary upgrades and a bit of good fortune are what’s needed as we head into 2026.

Final Thoughts

Tough seasons happen, even for the best organizations. Baseball’s 162-game grind is unforgiving, and sometimes the breaks simply don’t go your way.

Still, Braves fans have every right to be frustrated. Expectations are sky-high for a reason. This is a franchise built on sustained excellence.

That same standard is why optimism remains justified.

Despite injuries, underperformance, and disappointment, the foundation is still elite. From Acuña and Olson to Strider and Schwellenbach, and with a new wave of young talent behind them, there should be a positive outlook as we look to the future. Alex Anthopoulos and his front office have proven they can adapt and reload when necessary, and 2026 represents a pivotal moment to do just that.

A new manager, a healthier roster, and renewed motivation await. Braves Country, let’s turn the page on 2025 and get excited for what’s to come in 2026.