Jason Foster contributed to this edition of the Braves Beat Report The Braves have been used to having a potential MVP candidate or two on the roster nearly every season for the past 35 years. But having four legitimate candidates at once? That's much more unusual, but the first month-plus of the 2026 season could be a foreshadow of what's to come for Atlanta. Through the team's first 35 games, Matt Olson, Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II have all laid the early groundwork for an MVP candidacy, with each finding himself among the NL leaders in at least one key offensive category while also putting together a well-rounded offensive season. After Sunday's game in Colorado, Olson leads baseball in doubles (15) and RBIs (31), is tied for the NL lead in homers (11) and is second in OPS (1.030). That puts him on pace for 51 homers,138 RBIs and 69 doubles. |
Baldwin, meanwhile, is batting .315 with eight homers, 29 RBIs and a .908 OPS and is tied for the NL lead in hits (45). His pace: 37 homers, 134 RBIs. Albies is tied with Baldwin for the lead in hits while also batting .333 with seven homers and a .932 OPS. His pace: 32 homers, 101 RBIs. Harris, though he doesn't have any black ink on his Baseball Reference page just yet, came into Sunday with seven homers and ranked sixth in the NL in average (.321) and ninth in OPS (.913). His pace: 32 homers, 101 RBIs. |
Though at least some regression is bound to come, the starts of Olson, Baldwin, Albies and Harris have been a main ingredient in the Braves jumping out to an MLB-best 25-10 record, a strong 8 1/2-game lead in the NL East and their best 35-game start of the Modern Era (since 1900). If they all keep going at anything close to this pace, it should be a fun summer in Atlanta -- and an interesting MVP vote after the season. The last team with four players in the top 10 of MVP voting was the 2005 Yankees: Alex Rodriguez (1), Gary Sheffield (8), Mariano Rivera (9) and Derek Jeter (10). The last team with three? The 2023 Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. (1), Olson (4) and Austin Riley (7). |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Which Atlanta Braves player (since 1966) has the most top-10 MVP finishes without winning the award? A) Fred McGriff B) Greg Maddux C) Austin Riley D) Marcell Ozuna |
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It's mostly been a nightmare start to the season for Austin Riley. He came into the weekend series with the Rockies in a 2-for-37 skid over his previous 10 games and with a .190 average and .588 OPS for the season. And, of course, that followed back-to-back seasons that were marked by injuries and underperformance. But a rebound may be underway after the weekend series in Colorado. Though he struck out six times in the series, Riley had four hits, four RBIs and four batted balls of 101.6 mph or greater, including a 106.1 mph homer in Saturday's game that traveled a Statcast-projected 438 feet. Even more encouraging, Riley's average exit velocity over his past five games is 99.7 mph, up considerably from the 89.9 mph it had been in his previous 30 games. Riley has compiled a .781 OPS since signing a 10-year, $212 million contract extension -- the largest in team history -- in August 2022. That production is still well above league average, just not quite what the Braves had in mind when they signed him to the long-term deal. But if the Colorado series in any predictor, the version of Riley that earned that big extension with three straight seasons of 6.0 bWAR or higher could be about to re-emerge. |
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MAY THE COORS COMEBACKS BE WITH YOU |
There must be something in the thin Denver air in early May. Friday's comeback from a six-run deficit was the fourth time the Braves have overcome a deficit of at least five runs in Denver during an early May series. It even happened on consecutive days in 2012. May 8, 1993: Trailed 6-0 entering the eighth, won 8-7 May 4, 2012: Trailed 5-0 entering the third, won 9-8 in 11 innings May 5, 2012: Trailed 6-0 entering the third, won 13-9 May 1, 2026: Trailed 6-0 entering the fourth, won 9-8 |
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THIS WEEK IN BRAVES HISTORY |
May 6-9, 1993: The Braves faced the expansion Rockies for the first time and outscored them 46-22 in a four-game sweep at Mile High Stadium. They would go on to finish 13-0 against Colorado on the season. May 10, 1994: The Braves scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Phillies to overcome an 8-1 deficit and force extra innings. They eventually won, 9-8, in the 15th on an RBI bunt single from reliever Mike Stanton that scored Deion Sanders from third. May 5, 2000: The Braves blew a 4-1 lead in the top of the ninth and headed to the bottom half trailing 5-4 before Andruw Jones clubed a two-run walk-off homer to beat the Phillies, 6-5. |
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Answer: C) Austin Riley Riley has three top-10 MVP finishes (so far), the most of any player in the Atlanta era to never win the award. Riley received MVP votes each year from 2021-23, when he averaged 6.3 bWAR per season. His sixth-place finish in 2022 was his highest ranking, as he finished seventh in the vote in ‘21 and ‘23. |
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