These Braves stars have to buckle up before the season spirals out of control

There is no reason to panic just yet, but the Braves will need some players to step up to overcome some early-season challenges in 2024.

Early in every baseball season is great time for overreaction, and the Atlanta Braves are no exception in 2024. Despite the fact that they have led the NL East since the beginning of the season and the rest of the division has shown little interest in challenging the Braves early, the loss of Spencer Strider to an arm injury, combined with some poor losses and Max Fried’s struggles, has many Braves fans believing that the sky is falling.

This is a reminder to everyone that the baseball season is long, and it is usually better not to get too focused on specific game results or occurrences, especially early in the season. There is a lot of baseball to be played before we can learn much, and every team will lose and win 50 games. The middle 62 games will determine who will play in October and who will be left wondering what went wrong.

However, the Braves cannot afford to presume that games played in April and May do not count because, in fact, they do. Given some of the challenges that the Braves have (which are identical to what they faced last year), some players will need to come up big time.

Here are some of the Braves that need to step up before it is too late

Players are not on this list due to a lack of effort or anything other than foolish early-season luck. However, it is indisputable that when players are hurt or things start to go wrong, the only way to solve it is for guys to step up and help put wins on the board. Here are a handful of the more key Braves players that will need to deliver that type of performance in the future if Atlanta is to have any chance of reaching their goals.

Travis d’Arnaud

Asking a 35-year-old catcher with a lot of mileage on his body and a history of problems, including concussions, to play practically every day and contribute at a high level is a tall order. However, the basic issue is that Atlanta’s primary catcher, Sean Murphy, is out for the foreseeable future due to an oblique injury, leaving the Braves with no choice except to hope that TdA can turn back the clock for a short while.

As of 4/12, d’Arnaud is slashing.214/.267/.321 in his 30 plate appearances in 2024. While expecting him to become the version of himself from 2020, when he put up a.919 OPS, is unrealistic, being a.700+ OPS guy at the plate while also being an excellent shepherd of the Braves’ pitching staff would go a long way.

Jarred Kelenic

The truth is, the Braves’ pitching staff will be a work in progress throughout the season. Will the Braves keep Reynaldo Lopez in the rotation all season? Who will take over for Strider if he misses the rest of the season? How will Charlie Morton and Chris Sale look in the second half, given their ages? Those are just a few of the “ifs,” which means the Braves’ offense will have to be outstanding once again.

To accomplish this, the Braves will need on newly acquired Jarred Kelenic to rake. The results so far this season have been fantastic (he must have read all of your mean tweets and comments from spring training), as he is slashing.462/.517/.577, but that has been aided by some fortunate BABIP luck, and he has yet to really showcase his power or demonstrate the ability to get on base when the good batted ball luck isn’t rolling. Atlanta needs this to happen soon.

Max Fried

Everyone understands what’s at stake for the Braves and Max Fried this season. Fried is a free agent at the end of the season, and all Braves fans want to know if Atlanta will be able to keep him long-term, or if they should at all. The latter question has been increasingly significant in recent weeks, as Fried’s season has not started off well, and his problems have come at a bad time for the Braves.

No one believes Fried’s 18.00 ERA through his first two outings will last because he is simply too talented for that. However, outcomes are results, and he has not aided the Braves’ chances in his starts thus far, nor has he helped his own contract situation. There is also a risk that some of Fried’s injury troubles from last season will play a role here. For the Braves to withstand Strider’s probable departure, Fried will need to turn things around and stay healthy in 2024, which may be easier said than done.

Ronald Acuna Jr.

This is not an alarming sign for Ronald Acuna Jr. because he is still making things happen in practically every game, even if it is confined to absorbing a large portion of the opposition team’s attention. Still, his.233/.353/.279 line to open the season has left a lot to be desired, despite the fact that he appears to be well over any concerns about the slight knee ailment he suffered this spring based on how much he has run thus far.

Coming off one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history would have been a near-impossible bar to clear this season, and it shouldn’t be his standard for success. That being said, Acuna Jr. will need to be one of the Braves’ greatest players in 2024 if they want to repeat as division champs and make a deep run in the postseason. History says that he will be alright, but it would be ideal if he could resume looking like himself shortly.