Three Takeaways Ahead of Braves Opening Day

Opening day is almost here, and the Atlanta Braves will be back in regular-season action. It's been a roller-coaster six or so weeks since pitchers and catchers reported. There have been injuries, suspensions and emotions that came from representing nations on the world stage

From what's been observed so far since the players reported, here are three takeaways ahead of the season. It's going to address three of the bigger general topics that have been discussed during the spring.

The Braves Bats Should Be Better This Year

Austin Riley looked good this spring. Ronald Acuña Jr. is healthy. Matt Olson looks poised for a nice follow-up to an All-Star campaign.

Those two statuses alone should already have the offense in a better position than last season. Both are, at their best, MVP-caliber players who can drive this offense, as long as they're close to that form.

Mauricio Dubón is an automatic upgrade over Nick Allen. He'll ultimately lose his spot at shortstop to Ha-Seong Kim when he gets healthy, but even plugging in what Dubón produced last year would be better for an entire season. His seven home runs were more than all Braves shortstops combined in 2025, and his 34 RBIs last season weren't far off. Braves shortstops drove in 41 runs, a number that would have been lower if they didn't add Kim in September.

Mike Yastrzemski became more important after losing Jurickson Profar again. He's expected to do damage against right-handers. Dominic Smith should be useful in this matchup as well. The bench, in general, is undeniably deeper compared to the past couple of seasons.

It's understandable to be concerned about Ozzie Albies, but the verdict is still out on him. Even if he continues to struggle, this lineup should have an easier time absorbing it this year.

Signs certainly point to a better year offensively.

Concerns About the Rotation are Valid

If Strider hadn't gone down at the eleventh hour, it would be easier to say that things were fine.

My main concern isn't whether Bryce Elder or Jose Suarez can be serviceable. They should be, for the most part. Younger talent should be in a better position to be more of a help this year. The main issue for me is whether other members of the rotation stay healthy.

Reynaldo López is getting another shot at the rotation. He started to struggle in later starts, and then there was the scare of a major dip in velocity on top of that. They claim it's a mechanical adjustment, and everything is fine now. We'll see. His injury history since coming to Atlanta isn't on his side.

Grant Holmes' health doesn't personally concern me, but for those who are weary because he opted to rehab a torn UCL, I get it. It's not an unprecedented move, but when it doesn't get repaired with a procedure, you wonder how much his elbow can hold up.

I'm not getting into whether or not they should have added another starter. We've beaten that horse to death. The fact of the matter is that this is where the rotation current stands, and there isn't much room for error.

Baserunning Could Be Fun to Watch

Antoan Richardson nearly made Juan Soto a 40/40 player in one year. The Mets' star had never had more than 12 stolen bases in a year before 2025.

It makes you wonder what he can do with a guy like Acuña, who has already stolen 73 bases before. Richardson has Albies ready to set a career-high for stolen bases. Michael Harris II is coming off a 20/20 season, and Eli White has a high success rate on the basepaths.

This year could be fun from the perspective of base-stealing. The Braves were 26th in MLB with 82 stolen bases last year. Expect that to change. Acuña being healthy would have done that already, but there could be a boom across the board.