The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves are unveiling their championships rings at Truist Park tonight as a part of their championships weekend. The celebration is still very much in full swing, but don't let that fool you, this reign is far from over. The Braves are primed to contend for the foreseeable future and that is fueled by the plethora of MVP candidates that make their home in this lineup. Joe Patrick joined the Nick Kayal Show to discuss.
Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson are everyday guys that are legitimate MVP candidates. Acuna is debatably the best player in the sport, Riley has developed into a pillar in this lineup, and Olson has boom potential written all over him.
Ronald Acuna is coming off the knee injury, but we've seen what he's capable of when healthy. The 40/40 conversations were no fib.
Matt Olson is coming off a strong, three-hit day yesterday in which he flashed his tremendous upside at the plate. But just wait until the weather warms up and he starts launching 400-foot bombs into the Chop House.
But when you piece it all together, Austin Riley feels like the guy that could really take this team to the next level.
"He was the guy that was involved in the MVP talk last year and he looks like he's leveling up even more," Patrick told Nick Kayal. "He has looked really impressive to me."
Going back to 2021, the 25-year-old Riley has looked calm, cool, and collected at the plate. He is taking what the pitcher is giving him instead of swinging outside of the strike zone as he tended to do early in his career. That has created walks and a pitching mistake that turned into a two-run homer on Thursday. Before Friday, Riley's last 162 games have seen him slash .312/.370/.553 with 36 home runs, 75 extra-base-hits.
Those are MVP numbers.
"This team has really been driven by its offense since 2019," Joe Patrick said. "It's not going to take long for people to realize Matt Olson is right on par with Freddie Freeman and you get him at a better salary number. There are really good things in store coming off a World Championship. You're in a championship window that could remain open for the next six or seven years."