The Braves reached the All-Star break with a two-game lead in the division, but the way they stumbled to the finish line left plenty of room for concern. If Atlanta is going to turn that first-half survival act into a real playoff run, it needs a handful of key figures to wake up fast after the break.
The biggest name on that list is Austin Riley. The 29-year-old third baseman has been one of the most frustrating players in baseball this season, and the numbers tell the story.
Through 95 games, Riley is hitting .207/.288/.329. He has also been stuck in the 13th percentile in strikeout rate at 29.4 K%, and the drop in quality contact has only made the slump look worse.
If the Braves are serious about being a threat to the Dodgers in October, getting the old Riley back would matter a lot.
Ha-Seong Kim is another player Atlanta badly needs to salvage. One of Alex Anthopoulos’ biggest offseason additions, Kim has been a disaster in the first half.
His -1.1 fWAR puts him among the worst players in baseball so far, and the production has been brutal: a -26 wRC+ and .239 OPS in 27 games. That led to a quick benching by manager Walt Weiss.
Kim then landed on the injured list a couple of weeks ago with finger inflammation, which at least gives him a chance to reset. He homered in his first rehab assignment plate appearance, and the Braves will be hoping that’s the start of something better.
Ronald Acuña Jr. also belongs on the rebound watch, even if it feels strange to say that about Atlanta’s franchise star. He played only 53 games in the first half of 2026, and his 121 wRC+ and 0.9 fWAR are far closer to his floor than his ceiling.
The Braves need him on the field more often over the final months, because this team has long shown it follows his lead. When Acuña is rolling at MVP level, Atlanta looks like a different club.
The rotation is another obvious trouble spot, and really the entire group after Chris Sale needs to show something. Sale has been the steady presence, but the rest of the staff has been inconsistent and plain pedestrian as the season has gone on.
Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder giving Atlanta even passable starts in the second half would be a huge boost, though the Braves probably can’t count on that. Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver are both dealing with rust as they return, which is why the club may need to look outside the organization for help.
Honorable mention goes to Walt Weiss. The manager started the year with a more aggressive edge, especially in tight late-game situations, but that approach faded as the Braves slipped. He backed off with his bullpen usage, and at times tried to squeeze too many outs from starters who had already run out of steam.
In Other News...
Byron Buxton Just Took A Painful Shot At A Familiar Braves Dream
Byron Buxtons pre-All-Star Game comments landed with a little more force than the usual summer talk show chatter, especially for anyone in Atlanta who has long treated the Georgia native as a natural fit for the Braves. Buxton made clear he does not see the city that way, and he framed his connection to home in a much different part of the state, one that puts him closer to other Southern cities than to Atlanta.
The Twins star also underscored how much Minnesota means to him after years of injuries and uncertainty, saying his loyalty runs deep because the organization has stayed with him through it all. For Braves fans who have spent years dreaming on a future reunion, the message was hard to miss: whatever the appeal of a hometown ending might be, Buxtons heart appears to be elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Have Found An In-House Answer To A Frustrating Need
Mike Yastrzemskis move to the injured list with elbow inflammation opened an immediate hole for Atlanta, and the Braves turned to Brewer Hicklen to help cover it. Hicklen was called up and wasted little time making himself noticeable, delivering an RBI double in his first game and giving the club at least a short-term jolt while Yastrzemski is sidelined for a minimum of 10 days.
The larger question is whether Hicklen can turn that quick start into something more lasting. His minor league track record has been strong, but his major league rsum is still thin, so the Braves have to weigh whether he can stick as a useful right-handed bench piece as injured regulars work back. If he keeps producing, Atlanta may have found a more practical in-house fix than it expected, and that could influence how aggressively the front office looks at adding help later on. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Rehab Assignment Just Raised The Stakes For Acua And Kim
Ronald Acua Jr. and Ha-Seong Kim both took a step back onto the field in the Florida Complex League, a small but meaningful development for a Braves club that has felt Acuas absence since June 9. For Atlanta, the rehab assignments are about more than just getting bodies healthy again. They are a reminder of how much the lineup has missed Acuas presence, and how carefully the team will have to manage his return after a hamstring issue that has already lingered.
Kims situation carries a different kind of urgency. After an uneven season, he is trying to turn this rehab stretch into proof that he can still help the Braves, and his first game offered a better start than he has had in the majors lately. Andrew McCutchen also got into the game, but the bigger question for Atlanta is how much these early rehab reps can say about what comes next, especially with the roster picture starting to tighten. [Read more 🡒]