The Braves completed their first homestand Wednesday, taking series from the Royals and A’s to start the season 4-2. That’s quite a bit better than the 0-7 start of 2025. Here are five brief takeaways through six games:
1. Drake Baldwin living up to the hype
The Braves’ second-year catcher was phenomenal, completing the homestand with four RBIs Wednesday. There were lofty expectations for Baldwin entering the year. He’s already looked the part of an All-Star, but he’ll obviously have to maintain it. The Braves should be excited, though, by Baldwin’s continued progression. He looked like the team’s best hitter at points. Baldwin is hitting .318 (7-for-22) with three homers and seven RBI thus far.
2. The top four in the rotation: So far, so good
Chris Sale delivered two stellar outings, which was expected. Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder followed with their own good efforts. Overall, the Braves’ top four starters surrendered four runs over 23 innings. Jose Suarez was less inspiring in Tuesday’s loss, but the expectations are lower there. That spot will be rotated (and it seems as if veteran Martin Perez will make that start in the next turn).
The Braves need reliability from their top four. They received it through one turn. Will Lopez and Holmes hold up over time? We’ll see.
3. The biggest bats haven’t yet emerged
The Braves enjoyed three combined RBIs from Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr. The trio combined for three extra-base hits and zero home runs. Credit to the lower portion of the Braves’ lineup, which deserves most of the credit for the team’s offensive success. Remember, if the bottom of the order is getting on, that’s setting up Acuña, who could rejoin MVP talks this summer. He only hit .150 over the homestand (though he reached base four times Tuesday), so he’ll be due his first hot streak of the season soon enough.
4. The team’s depth is improved
This appeared to be the case in spring, and though it’s only been six games, the Braves have reason to be optimistic about their depth. Mauricio Dubon, their shortstop fill-in while Ha-Seong Kim is sidelined, hit .412 with five RBIs. Don’t be swayed by a couple of defensive miscues; there’s a reason Dubon is a Gold Glove-winning utility man.
Dominic Smith, meanwhile, provided what will probably be one of the season’s best moments with his walk-off grand slam last weekend. He’s 5-for-13 to start his Braves career. Credit to catcher Jonah Heim, as well. He hasn’t made an impact offensively, but he caught Sale’s and Elder’s scoreless outings, drawing constant praise from manager Walt Weiss. There will be a case for the Braves to carry three catchers when Sean Murphy returns in the coming weeks.
5. Baserunning …
New baserunning instructor Antoan Richardson arrived with a lot of excitement. But the Braves hurt themselves more on the bases in the past week than helped. They were caught on three steal attempts, tied for most in the majors, and they’re one of four teams to have only stolen one base. The Braves had a nice week, but that’s an area to clean up.
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