For most of the 2026 season, the Atlanta Braves have been at the top of Major League Baseball.
However, their recent stretch of play has left some concern. The Braves had lost six of seven games in the middle of June — their worst stretch of the season — before a bounce-back series win over the Brewers.
Every team goes through rough patches during a 162-game season, but beyond the recent losing streak, other factors could be cause for concern.
Health Is the Braves’ Biggest Cause for Concern
Ronald Acuña Jr. is undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the MLB. Unfortunately, staying on the field has been a constant issue for him. Since his historic MVP campaign in 2023, Acuña has only played in 197 games. Only twice in his career has he played over 150 games.
This season, Acuña has sustained two separate hamstring injuries that have landed him on the IL. His first hamstring injury caused him to miss over two weeks, but Braves manager Walt Weiss is expecting his star outfielder to be out for a longer period this time around.
Michael Harris II has dealt with his fair share of injuries this season as well. While he hasn’t been on the IL this season, Harris has been limited throughout the season with calf and back injuries.
During Atlanta’s 7-5 loss versus the San Francisco Giants on June 16, Harris was removed from the game for back tightness. The good news is that he was listed as day-to-day rather than needing to go on the IL.
Drake Baldwin, who has been one of the best catchers in the game this season, missed over one month with an oblique injury. His absence was felt more by the loss of Sean Murphy as Atlanta juggled catcher duties with both of them down.
Chadwick Tromp and Sandy León were the catchers for the time being and they weren’t great. Together they combined for just 11 hits in 66 at bats.
Braves’ Pitching Depth Being Tested
Before the season started, Spencer Strider was placed on the IL and didn’t make his season debut until May 3. Strider had a rough outing on June 12 against the New York Mets where he allowed seven runs in just three innings. Weiss didn’t pull him from the game due to poor performance, but rather an arm injury.
After giving up a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, Weiss removed Strider from the game after just 68 pitches. His fastball velocity dipped to under 90 MPH, which was a huge concern. On June 15, Strider would be shut down from throwing for four weeks, but surgery wasn’t required.
With Strider back on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to young arms like rookie starter JR Ritchie. He replaced Strider against the Mets and proceeded to throw five innings of shutout baseball out of the bullpen. However, he allowed five runs against the Giants in his most recent start and now has a 4.54 ERA on the season.
The Braves are also missing other key arms such as Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep. The good news is Waldrep is close to returning as Atlanta recently optioned him to Triple-A following a rehab stint. As for Schwellenbach, he just started throwing recently and is still a ways from returning.
Another starter who is making progress is AJ Smith-Shawver. He had Tommy John surgery last season and is close to beginning a rehab assignment. While Atlanta may be banged up, they are close to getting some much-needed arms back in the rotation.
Was June Just a Bump in the Road?
The silver lining is the Braves are still first in the NL East and have the second-best record in the baseball as a whole. The pace Atlanta was playing at to start the season was difficult to maintain over a 162 game season.
As long as the Braves are in a great position by the trade deadline, they should be in position to make moves. The reality is, Atlanta is still one of the favorites to win the World Series and a slump like this was going to happen eventually. The Braves have overcome injuries throughout this season, but this has been a tough stretch of baseball.
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