ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta Braves stars Ronald Acuna Jr. and Chris Sale lead the way in MLB Network’s top 100 ranking ahead of the 2025 season.
In the list unveiling spots 11-20 on Wednesday, Acuna came in at No. 16 and Sale came in at No. 20. Sale trailed Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler (No. 19), Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes (No. 15) and Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal (No. 11) among starting pitchers in the 11-20 ranking. Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, fresh off a historic MVP season in which he became the first player to record a 50-50 season in 2024, claimed the top spot in the rankings.
Acuna, coming off a 2024 season where he played just 49 games before tearing his left ACL and ending his season, ranked ahead of some of Major League Baseball’s elite outfielders. Acuna earned his first NL MVP Award in 2023 after becoming the first player to tally 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases in a season. This performance came two years after he tore his right ACL, which caused him to miss the second half of the 2021 season.
Now, he’s completed two ACL reconstruction surgeries as the team turns its focus to 2025. But that doesn’t seem to affect what’s expected of him. Although he’s set to miss Opening Day and around a month of the regular season, Fangraphs expects Acuna to slash .291/.379/.509 with 26 home runs and 73 RBIs.
Sale, on the other hand, is coming off the best season of his 14-year career after he won the NL Cy Young Award with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177.2 innings.
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FanGraphs has Sale finishing the regular season with a 3.07 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 187 innings across 31 starts.
Plenty of other Braves rank in MLB’s top 100
Acuna and Sale weren’t the only two Braves ranked among the MLB’s best.
Infielders Austin Riley (No. 33) and Matt Olson (No. 34), designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (No. 47) and outfielders Michael Harris II (No. 67) and Jurickson Profar (No. 84) rounded out Atlanta’s players in MLB’s top 100.
Riley and Olson appeared on MLB’s top 100 list in 2024, ranking at Nos. 15 and 13, respectively, but the former had an injury-plagued 2024 campaign that had him record just 19 home runs and 56 RBIs. For reference, Riley was averaging 36 home runs and 99 RBIs per season up to that point.
Olson led the big leagues with 54 home runs and 139 RBIs for Atlanta in 2023, coming fourth in MVP voting and earning a Silver Slugger Award at first base. That success didn’t nearly replicate in 2024, where Olson recorded 29 home runs and 98 RBIs, but his consistency stayed, nonetheless. Dating back to 2021, Olson has played in 620 consecutive games.
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Ozuna mashed 39 home runs and 104 RBIs en route to a fourth-place finish in MVP voting in 2024. His performance is expected to decline in 2025, but his power numbers should remain strong, with predictions suggesting Ozuna will finish the season with 32 home runs and 95 RBIs.
Rounding out Atlanta’s soon-to-be starting outfield in MLB’s top 100 alongside Acuna are Harris and Profar, the latter of whom recently signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the club.
After an underwhelming campaign which saw the 2022 Rookie of the Year slash .264/.304/.418 in 110 games (all career lows), Harris is expected to bounce back with career highs in home runs (25) and RBIs (81) while posing as a serious 25-25 threat (25 home runs and 25 steals).
Profar, a former No. 1 overall prospect in the Texas Rangers system, completed the best season of his career in 2024 where he hit .280 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs with San Diego, therefore getting rewarded with the biggest contract of his career with Atlanta.
The Braves open the regular season with a four-game series against the Padres in San Diego on March 27. Atlanta’s home opener is against the Miami Marlins on April 4.
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