In fact, in June, the Braves\u2019 offense has collectively produced -0.7 fWAR, the worst mark in MLB. Statistically, they\u2019re dead last in the following categories: batting average (.214), on-base percentage (.267), slugging percentage (.334), wRC+ (65), walk percentage (6.4%), runs (74), home runs (19) and wOBA (.266). <\/p>\n To put that into perspective, the Braves hit for a .271 batting average and .336 OBP in March and April, which ranked second and fifth in MLB, respectively. They had 43 home runs in that span, too, which was the third-most in the league. So, what\u2019s gone wrong in June?<\/p>\n For starters, an injury landed Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. on the IL. But that\u2019s just one small part of the disastrous month for the Braves. Some of the team\u2019s key hitters have been in severe slumps throughout June. Drake Baldwin<\/a>, who had a .884 OPS in 32 games in March and April, and a 1.038 OPS in 16 games in May, has been abysmal at the plate since returning from the IL. In 11 games this month, Baldwin has just two hits in 45 plate appearances. He has the second-lowest batting average (.047) among all players with at least 25 plate appearances in June. The lowest? Another Braves position player, Ha-Seong Kim, who has just one hit (a single) in the entire month across 32 plate appearances. Michael Harris II, who had 13 home runs in the first two months of the season, has also seen his performances dip. He\u2019s hit one home run in June and has a .702 OPS in 19 games.<\/p>\n Their usually stalwart pitching staff has also endured its share of struggles. In five starts this month, Bryce Elder, who had been one of their most valuable players<\/a> at the start of this season, has been shelled to the tune of a 8.10 ERA. He\u2019s surrendered 24 runs and seven home runs in 26 2\/3 innings, both of which are more than he allowed in his first 12 starts of the year. Elder had a 1.97 ERA after his start on May 22. Prior to, and including, that outing, he had surrendered two or fewer earned runs in eight of his first 11 starts. Since then, his ERA has ballooned to 4.01 and he\u2019s allowed more than two earned runs in five of his last six appearances, including four starts with five-plus earned runs. It\u2019s basically a more extreme version of what happened to him in his 2023 All-Star campaign, when Elder entered July with a 2.44 ERA before recording a 5.96 ERA in five starts to begin a disappointing second half.<\/p>\n This month, the Braves have scored more than five runs in just four of their 22 games, and they\u2019ve been held to three or fewer runs 12 times. Compare that to their production through the month of May when they scored more than five runs in 24 of their first 60 games and were held to three or fewer runs only 18 times. Yes, they faced some teams with excellent pitching this month, including the Brewers and Padres, but even against inferior opponents they\u2019ve faltered. This weekend, the Giants, who rank 20th in MLB with a team ERA of 4.31, held Atlanta to just five runs across their three-game series. <\/p>\n Teams slump. That\u2019s just the nature of the game. But as the gap between the Braves and the Phillies continues to narrow, the concerns over Atlanta\u2019s ability to contend for a World Series heighten. No team in MLB reached 40 wins faster than the Braves. Now, both the Brewers and Dodgers won their 50th games before Atlanta. With just a month until MLB\u2019s trade deadline, the lackluster month of June will certainly have the Braves\u2019 front office assessing whether or not it needs to be aggressive on the trade market<\/a> to help the team right the ship. <\/p>\n In the meantime, they\u2019ll have to lean on veterans such as Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Chris Sale to guide the team through its current rough patch. They\u2019ll start July with a seven-game homestand against the Cardinals and Mets, during which they\u2019ll hope they can find a way to turn things around. <\/p>\n
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