Ronald Acuna Jr. has the kind of talent that can tilt a postseason series, but the numbers from his recent October runs tell a very different story.
According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Acuna has posted a .474 OPS in the postseason since 2023. Even more striking, he has not driven in a postseason run since 2020. That drought hung over Atlanta again on Wednesday, when the Braves fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series and saw their season come to an end.
Braves fans booed Acuna in that game, and Atlanta needed more from its star bat. Instead, he finished the 2026 postseason hitting .125 with a .425 OPS.
The regular season was a different story, at least in volume if not at the level Acuna expects from himself. He was limited to 107 games, but still put together 20 home runs, 21 stolen bases and a .796 OPS.
If the Braves are going to get back on track in the next few years and make a World Series return for the first time since 2021, they need Acuna to look like Ronald Acuna Jr. in October. Without that version of him, it gets a lot harder for Atlanta to make a real postseason push, especially with teams like the Dodgers standing in the way in the National League.
Now the Braves head into the offseason after another early exit. The Dodgers, meanwhile, move on to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, which begins on Sunday.
In Other News...
Braves Season Ended With The Breakdown Fans Feared Most
For much of October, the Braves were chasing a version of themselves that looked closer to the club fans expected all season, but Game 4 against the Dodgers ended with the kind of unraveling that has lingered over too many recent postseason exits. Los Angeles beat Atlanta 4-1 to close out the NLDS, and the game tilted toward the Dodgers as they took advantage of defensive mistakes and came through with the kind of timely hits that separate a tense playoff night from a breakthrough.
Michael Harris II provided the lone notable spark on offense, but it was never enough to force the Dodgers into real trouble. Instead, Atlanta watched a familiar script play out, with the offense unable to build on small openings and the margin for error shrinking until it disappeared. The Dodgers move on to the NLCS, while the Braves are left with another October that ended the way their fans feared most. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face A Bigger Question Than Another Early Playoff Exit
The Braves October ended the same way too many recent runs have, with another loss to the Dodgers and another quick exit from the postseason. This one stings differently, though, because Atlanta did take a real step forward under first-year manager Walt Weiss, winning the National League East and piling up 94 regular-season wins after a down year the season before.
Still, the bigger question hanging over the winter is not just why the Braves could not get past Los Angeles again. It is whether the core that has driven this era can keep doing it at the level Atlanta needs, with concerns swirling around the recent performance trends of Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acua Jr. and Sean Murphy. There is enough young talent in the pipeline to keep hope alive, but the Braves have reached the point where promise has to translate into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Mahle Just Made The Braves' Offseason Much More Interesting
Tyler Mahles brief run with Atlanta in the 2026 NLDS against the Dodgers gave the Braves another arm they could trust in October, and it also gave the front office something to think about once the offseason arrived. Mahle said he enjoyed his time with the club and made clear he would be open to coming back if the chance comes together, which is exactly the kind of comment a team pays attention to after a postseason series.
The challenge for Atlanta is that this one may not be simple to line up quickly. Mahle is expected to draw interest from multiple teams in a shallow free-agent market, and while there is obvious mutual interest in keeping the door open, no agreement is in place yet. For a Braves club always trying to balance upside, timing and cost on the pitching side, that leaves Mahle as one of the more intriguing names to watch this winter. [Read more 🡒]