Three Reasons the Braves Have Been MLB’s Best Team in 2026

If you look at the Braves’ roster, you won’t see many different names than last season’s ensemble. In 2025, Atlanta had a down year, finishing fourth in the NL East, 10 games below .500 at 76–86. The team missed the postseason for the first time in seven years, but rather than panic and blow up the roster, the front office remained confident in its core of players and kept things relatively the same heading into ’26.

That decision has paid off, with the team off to its best start since it was known as the Beaneaters and looking like true World Series contenders. The Braves are 27–13, quickly building a comfortable lead in the division, already eight games ahead of the Nationals and nine games ahead of the Phillies.

So, what’s been behind Atlanta’s quick turnaround from missing the playoffs to looking like a contender?

Bounce-back performances from position players

Atlanta has gotten some surprise performances out of players like Mauricio Dubón. After leaving the Astros in the offseason, he’s found new life with the Braves, making big plays for the team both offensively and defensively. Early on, he’s been Atlanta’s best hitter with runners in scoring position, logging 11 hits and 18 RBIs in those situations. Dubón has a .746 OPS thus far this season, up over 100 points from last year’s mark of .644, and he’s already logged two triples, more than he’s had in the last two years combined.

Additionally, Ozzie Albies, who has struggled in each of the last two seasons, also looks rejuvenated. Albies had a .671 OPS last season, the worst mark of his career, but is red hot this year with a .883 OPS and a 145 wRC+. He had 16 home runs all of last season (157 games) but has already halved that total in just 40 games this year. The same can be said for Michael Harris II, who after two consecutive seasons with a wRC+ below 100, has racked up 1.3 fWAR and a 141 wRC+ in his first 37 games in ‘26. Harris had a .678 OPS last year but has seen that figure rise dramatically to .868 this season.

Matt Olson looks like a legitimate MVP candidate

As encouraging as the play of Dubón, Albies and Harris has been, the true driving factor behind Atlanta’s early success is veteran first baseman Matt Olson, who is looking like a legit NL MVP candidate in his age-32 season. Olson leads the Braves with 13 home runs, a 1.025 OPS, 2.3 fWAR and a 178 wRC+, all of which rank in the top five league-wide.

Olson is the anchor behind the Braves’ hot start. He’s relentlessly consistent, having played in 821 consecutive games. For a team that’s been hit hard by the injury bug over the past few seasons, with important players frequently spending time on IL, Olson has been a guiding force for Atlanta, showing up every day and putting in the work. The ever-reliable first baseman has rewound the clock this season, looking more like the 2023 version of himself that put up 53 home runs and 139 RBIs while finishing fourth in NL MVP voting.

Bryce Elder and the rest of the pitching staff have been sharp

Another key catalyst behind the Braves’ success is their improved pitching. Atlanta ranks second in MLB with a team ERA of 3.17 is also tied for second with 20 quality starts. Last season, injuries plagued the pitching rotation, with several key starters missing extended time. This year has actually been much of the same in that regard. Even with the likes of Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawer and Hurston Waldrep on the IL, the Braves’ rotation has been excellent.

Chris Sale, even at age 37, looks like a Cy Young candidate with a 2.20 ERA and 56 strikeouts in eight starts. Reynaldo López has pitched well after missing almost the entirety of last season. But it’s been Bryce Elder who has truly leveled up the rotation to being in MLB’s upper echelon. Elder’s ERA in the last two seasons has been 6.52 and 5.30, respectively. Through eight starts in ‘26, he owns a 2.02 ERA, benefitting from a significantly reduced HR/9 (0.55, down from 1.38 in ‘25) and an improved strikeout rate (23.1%, up from 19.3% in ‘25).

The bullpen has been excellent, too. Braves relievers own a collective 3.26 ERA, the second-best mark in MLB behind only the Rangers (2.84). The team has 13 saves in 16 save opportunities––only the Astros have blown fewer saves, albeit in far fewer opportunities. Atlanta’s bullpen has three relievers––Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias, who have a sub-1.00 ERA and a sub-3.5% walk rate through nine or more appearances. All three of them have recorded a 0.6 fWAR or greater, a terrific mark at this point in the season for relief pitchers.

It’s been as good a start to the season as Braves fans could ask for. Now, they’ll hope the team can keep it up throughout the remaining three quarters of the campaign.

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