re: The ATL Thread (4/3)

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We have the pieces if we can stay healthy. If Albies/Riley/Harris play at their best level, the Braves are elite.

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Staying healthy is going to be the key. I think the lineup has all the pieces but Riley and Acuna needs to get out whatever slump they are having. Pitching has been solid so far but can they stay consistent?

Yeah counting on bounceback seasons from Riley, Albies, Harris, and (to a lesser extent) Murphy instead of addressing the lineup externally was always pretty risky to me.

I know several of us on this board have expressed concern about him, but I'm still a little surprised at how beat writers, radio hosts, podcasters, etc... have just casually assumed that Riley is going to be the 2022 version of himself this season. Every preseason analysis of the Braves always included some version of "well, when he's healthy, you know what you're going to get from Riley" even though he really struggled before he got injured in both 2024 and 2025.

I still believe he has not been the same since Mike Brumley died.

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The lineup needs another bat. Dubon and Smith are nice stories early on, but they are not going to hit over the course of the season. Acuna is at least hitting the ball hard. Riley is completely lost.

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I agree. If the core players can return to the level of production like 2022-2023, I think they can get by with filling those weak spots with cheap backups. I really hope Riley can bounce back. He is one of my favorite players on the team and would love to see him be a career Brave. We know he has the production in him but whatever needs to be fixed, needs to be fixed very quickly.

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The good news in all of this is that we are still winning series against teams we are supposed to be winning series against without much production from Acuna and zero production from Riley.

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It’s definitely a positive sign and it is a way better start compared to last year.