The Braves aren’t in sell mode. If anything, they’re expected to be one of the more aggressive buyers over the next eight days before the trade deadline. Still, FanGraphs’ latest top-50 trade value rankings offered a pretty revealing snapshot of where Atlanta’s core stands.
Only three Braves cracked the list: Ronald Acuña Jr. at No. 43, Michael Harris II at No. 41, and Drake Baldwin as Atlanta’s highest-ranked player at No. 31.
That Baldwin placement says plenty about how quickly he’s climbed. Ben Clemens wrote, “Baldwin is the second of the three catchers in this group, which means you’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see who I like most out of the trio (or just guess, I don’t think it’s a huge mystery),” and added, “The latest in a long line of Atlanta prospects who have comfortably outperformed their draft pedigree and exploded onto the big league scene, he became the team’s primary catcher when former Trade Value stalwart Sean Murphy started last year on the IL and he hasn’t looked back.”
Dillon Dingler was the catcher ranked just ahead of Baldwin, and that part makes sense given what Dingler has done this season. But Baldwin’s case looks different if you factor in the oblique injury that knocked him out for more than a month in the middle of the year.
He never really got rolling again right away after returning. Lately, though, he’s found his rhythm.
Over his last 18 games, Baldwin is hitting close to .400 with an OPS approaching 1.200.
Acuña’s spot at No. 43 is the one that will raise eyebrows. Clemens noted that the lowest he had ever ranked Acuña before was 11th, and he had him first in 2020.
Right now, though, Acuña is a tough player to price out in trade terms. Some teams wouldn’t even bother opening the conversation because of the asking price and the injury history.
Others would absolutely be willing to take the swing on the talent. In the end, it would probably only take one club to bite.
If Atlanta ever did listen, the return would still be massive. The Braves would likely get whatever they wanted, and more than they would for Harris or Baldwin.
Harris’ ranking also tells a story. A year ago, he couldn’t hit water in the ocean.
Then a small stance tweak in the second half changed everything, and that improvement has carried into 2026. He looks like one of the best center fielders in baseball again, and Atlanta has him under team control through 2032.
If this keeps up, he’ll be much higher on this list next year.
The biggest Braves omission was Matt Olson. The reason is obvious enough: he’s 32.
But he’s also arguably the best first baseman in baseball, and he’s under team control through 2030 at a very manageable $22 million per season. If the Braves ever made him available, the haul would be enormous.
In Other News...
Braves May Have A Deadline Answer To Their Yastrzemski Problem
The Braves have been looking for a cleaner answer against left-handed pitching, and the trade deadline is giving them a chance to find one without overhauling the roster. Mike Yastrzemski has helped stabilize the outfield mix, but Atlanta still has to think about the best way to maximize him in a part-time role, especially if the goal is to keep the lineup balanced into the stretch run.
One name that fits the discussion is Spencer Steer, a versatile Reds utility player whose profile makes him an appealing platoon fit and a useful piece beyond this season. He has handled lefties well enough to stand out in that kind of role, and his team control gives any acquiring club a longer runway to justify the move. The real question now is what Cincinnati would ask for, and whether Atlanta is willing to pay that price for a deadline solution that could matter well past this year. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Harper Just Validated What Braves Fans Are Starting To Believe
The Braves have spent much of the season trying to patch together a pitching staff that has had to absorb far more than its share of adversity, yet the club remains right in the NL East race. A big reason for that resilience has been Jeremy Hefner, whose work with pitchers has drawn notice for getting useful innings from arms that were not supposed to carry this kind of load in the first place.
Bryce Harper added another layer to that reputation this week when he weighed in on Hefners move from the Mets to Atlanta, a nod that only sharpened the sense around the division that the Braves may have landed one of the more respected pitching minds in the game. For a staff still searching for stability, and for fans watching the rotation survive on improvisation, that kind of outside validation matters even if the bigger question remains how far Hefner can keep pushing this group. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Already Have A Trade Deadline Problem They Feared
The latest trade between Boston and Washington is the kind of move that can quietly reshape the market before the deadline even fully arrives. A controllable starting pitcher changed hands for a promising right-handed bat, and for clubs hunting offense, it offered a reminder that even a one-for-one swap can come with a meaningful price tag when the player on the other side is viewed as useful and under team control.
For the Braves, that matters because they have been circling the same kind of upgrade: a right-handed bat that can help stabilize a lineup still searching for more from several spots. If the market is already asking for a return that looks closer to a top-tier prospect package, names like Lane Thomas, Taylor Ward, and Spencer Steer suddenly become less about fit and more about how far Atlanta is willing to go to solve a problem it has been trying to avoid making bigger. [Read more 🡒]