Braves Enter 2nd Half As Favorites But Will Face Stiff Competition

By: Emma Ann Lay

The Atlanta Braves lead Major League Baseball with a 60-29 record, and after winning their series against the Rays their hopes of a World Series victory strengthen. With an All-Star roster of Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olsen, and Spencer Strider, who can challenge the Braves in this second half of the season?

The Braves have already been swept by the Houston Astros earlier in the season making them an already big contender against their success in the post-season. When the Braves played the Astros in late April they struggled against the Astros pitching from Hector Neris and Cristian Javier, and not having star pitcher Kyle Wright after concerns for shoulder strain hurt the Braves.

The return of pitchers Dylan Lee and Kyle Wright will help the Braves going into the post-season, but the addition of pitcher Max Fried to the injury list following All-Star weekend could hurt their odds.

Although the Braves win their series against the Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend, the Rays still have the second-best overall record in the league. The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Braves in late May making them already competition for the postseason with that victory under their belt.

However, the Braves were missing many star players including pitchers Max Fried and Dylan Lee along with outfielder Ehire Adrianza due to injury during their series with the Dodgers. The Braves have recently swept the Miami Marlins in their home series two weeks ago, but the Marlins are still behind the Braves in the NL East by seven games while recently winning their series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Philadelphia Phillies are probably the last in contention with the Braves, but they are still competition for the Braves in the postseason following their sweep against the Rays.

The Braves’ hopes of contending for the World Series is still promising, but these five teams can definitely pose a threat with the revolving door of injuries the Braves have experienced this season. The Houston Astros are definitely their biggest competition heading into the post-season, but if the Braves can have star pitcher Max Fried return to play the odds are more promising.