Unfortunately for the Atlanta Braves, the second half of the season will most likely be focused on moral victories.
Atlanta is currently sitting 11 games under .500 and 9.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot and their World Series aspirations are all but dashed. The club could look very different sooner rather than later if Alex Anthopoulos decides to sell, with rumors of Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias being the top names available. If trading these guys does happen to be the case, the focus of this year’s second half will be on things that could help the Braves in 2026 and beyond. Let’s talk about some of the top storylines I’ll be keeping an eye on.
Braves’ Second Half Storylines to Watch
Which Prospects Will Step Up?
Nacho Alvarez Jr. is already with the big league club, filling in for Austin Riley at third base, but we’ll get into that a little more later. He’s just one of a slew of prospects that should get a chance over the final two months of the season. Hayden Harris and Jhancarlos Lara are two bullpen pieces that could establish themselves as staples in Atlanta.
We will also likely see a bevy of new faces make starts for Atlanta in the second half of the season, including prospects like Blake Burkhalter, Brett Sears, Hurston Waldrep, Ian Mejia, and JR Ritchie. The Braves will be hoping that a couple of these arms can prove to be Major League ready. It would be a terrific sign for the future of the Braves’ pitching staff.
Can Strider Find His Old Form?
After a shaky first few outings, Spencer Strider has started to settle in and look more like the pitcher he was before surgery, but there is still plenty of room for improvement for a pitcher who can dominate any lineup in baseball when he’s on.
This is arguably the most important second half development of them all. When Strider is right, this is a pitcher who is capable of winning the Cy Young and Atlanta needs him to be at his best the rest of the way, so he can go into 2026 with plenty of confidence and momentum.
Albies and Harris Are Likely Playing For Their Jobs
So many Braves have underperformed this season, but Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris are at the top of the list. They have been so bad that they now have to improve significantly for the remainder of the season just to keep their jobs.
Albies has a $7 million club option for 2026 that carries a buyout of $4 million. Atlanta will likely just hang onto him, given the difference is only $3 million, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be handed the starting job going into next season.
This brings me back to Alvarez, he is a prospect that the Braves think very highly of and he could get some time at second base or shortstop even when Riley comes back. The Braves need to find out if their second baseman for 2026 is already in the building, or if it is an area that must be addressed in the offseason.
The situation for Harris is a little different, given he’s under contract through 2030 and under team control through 2032. Atlanta desperately needs him to find his way out of his funk, and in all likelihood, he’ll begin next season as the club’s starting centerfielder because of how much they’ve already committed to him. However, competition will be brought in if he doesn’t show significant improvement. If he keeps performing like one of the worst offensive regulars in baseball, the Braves will have no choice but to go to another option early on in 2026.
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