ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The Atlanta Braves’ 2026 season begins Friday, and with a new season comes new opportunities for Braves players to reach important career milestones.
Listed below are some of the milestones the franchise and its players could reach in the upcoming campaign.
400 regular season wins at Truist Park
The Braves’ 17th home win this season will mark the team’s 400th regular season win at Truist Park. The team began playing at the park in 2017 after moving from Turner Field.
For comparison, the Braves began playing at Turner Field in 1997 and reached the 400-win mark in 2004.
Chris Sale
The 36-year-old lefty has experienced a career resurgence in Atlanta. Sale won the 2024 National League Cy Young award and could easily reach several milestones in 2026.
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50 starts in a Braves uniform
Sale starting in 50 games for the Braves seemed impossible when he first signed with the team. Going into 2024, he had started 50 games in the previous five years combined.
But here we are.
Sale’s opening day start against the Kansas City Royals will be his 50th start for the Atlanta Braves. The milestone is indicative of the complete turnaround his career has taken here in Atlanta.
400 games played
Sale’s seventh game this season will be his 400th career game. It will not be his 400th career start, however. He began his career coming out of the bullpen for the Chicago White Sox.
Sub-3.00 career ERA
Sale currently sits at a 3.01 ERA for his career. It is mostly dragged up by a few bad years with the Boston Red Sox, but if he maintains the same he has in Atlanta — or even keeps regression to a minimum — he will become one of less than 200 pitchers with a career ERA under 3.00.
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Ronald Acuña Jr.
The face of the franchise since Freddie Freeman’s departure, the electric centerfielder could reach several counting milestones in 2026, as well as climbing higher on a franchise leaderboard.
200 home runs
If you are surprised Acuña hasn’t hit 200 home runs already, you’re not alone. He averages 37 home runs over 162 games, which would have seen him reach the 200 home run mark in his fifth season, not his ninth.
However, multiple seasons shortened by injury and the COVID pandemic have taken away hundreds of opportunities for Acuña to launch one into the bleachers.
He needs to hit 14 home runs to become the 390th major leaguer to hit 200 long balls. That milestone would also make him the 10th player to reach the mark in a Braves uniform. That’s if one of his teammates doesn’t beat him to it, of course.
1,000 hits
Acuña needs 87 hits to reach 1,000, a mark he has eclipsed five times in his eight-year career. He would become the 28th player to reach 1,000 hits in a Braves uniform and would join current teammate Ozzie Albies, who enters 2026 with 1,086.
4,000 plate appearances
Again, it’s hard to blame any reader who assumed Acuña had reached this mark already. He needs 334 plate appearances to become, again, the 28th player to have 4,000 plate appearances in a Braves uniform.
And above him? Ozzie Albies with 4,471.
Top 5 hit-by-pitch in franchise history
One has to assume that getting hit by a pitch hurts. Acuña can probably attest to that, 53 times over. His 53 hit-by-pitches coming into 2026 are the sixth-most in franchise history.
He needs five more to pass Bobby Lowe for fifth.
Ozzie Albies
The 29-year-old Albies has been right there alongside Acuña, debuting in 2017. Albies has slowed down in recent years, but the Braves have to be hoping he returns to the heights of 2023.
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If he does, multiple milestones could be in play.
Top 10 most extra-base hits in franchise history
Since debuting in 2017, Albies has led the Braves in doubles multiple times and finished outside the top five only three times. Combined with a speed that allows him to stretch for triples, he currently sits at 12th all-time in extra-base hits.
Albies needs just two more to move into sole possession of 10th place. He could move into eighth with an average season by his standards.
2,000 total bases
Albies could become the 16th Brave to reach 2,000 total bases this season. He sits a mere 142 bases away from the milestone. If he hits the 37 doubles, five triples and 25 home runs he averages over 162 games, he will reach 2,000 bases and then some.
4,500 plate appearances
Much like Acuña, Albies could reach a plate appearances milestone in 2026. He’s 29 plate appearances away from becoming the 22nd Brave with 4,500 plate appearances. Albies averages 700 plate appearances a season, which would put him within striking distance of the top 15 in franchise history.
Matt Olson
944 consecutive games played
The math on this one is easy: 782 + 162 = 944.
Olson has yet to miss a game in a Braves uniform. His 782 consecutive games played streak is already the 12th-longest in major league history. Another full season would put it at eighth all-time.
Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak is still almost triple that number.
Of course, Olson could knock out a couple more milestones on the way. For fun.
5,000 at bats
If you play 750 games in a row, you are going to rack up a ton of at-bats.
Olson is 504 at-bats away from reaching the 5,000 at-bats milestone. The milestone would only put him within the top 850 all-time, but by some counts, more than 23,000 people have stepped onto a major league field.
5,000 at-bats is not nothing.
300 home runs
300 home runs is perhaps a more impressive mark. Olson is just 12 long balls away.
It is unlikely that Olson reaches the mark at Truist Park. He is much more likely to hit home runs on the road, despite Truist Park’s otherwise average park factor and unusual elevation.
He might not be the only player to reach the mark this season. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Marcell Ozuna, George Springer, Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor are all within striking distance.
Austin Riley
Austin Riley has been a consistent bedrock for the Braves at third base. His last two seasons have been interrupted by injury, but even in those short samples, he was a sparkplug for the team’s offense.
200 home runs
Riley reaching 200 home runs would take a year more like his 2023 than his 2024 or 2025, but it is possible. He is just 31 home runs away from the milestone, a number he beat each year from 2021 to 2023.
Should Riley have a healthy year, it is completely within reach.
Two hundred home runs would also make Riley the 10th or 11th player to reach the milestone as a Brave, depending on how Acuña’s year goes.
1,000 hits
1,000 hits would also need a return to form from Riley.
The 28-year-old is exactly 150 hits away. But much like the 200-home run mark, it could very well be done if he stays healthy for a full season.
500 runs batted in
Riley should reach the 500 runs batted in milestone unless everything goes terribly wrong. He is just 17 RBIs from the milestone and is projected to be a middle of the lineup bat for the Braves.
That’s prime territory to drive in a lot of runs.
Other Braves within reach of milestones
- Michael Harris II is 27 home runs shy of 100 and 30 stolen bases from reaching 100.
- Ha-Seong Kim needs 42 hits to reach 500 and 16 stolen bases to hit 100.
- Sean Murphy is seven home runs from 100 and 45 hits from 500.
- Mike Yastrzemski is 27 home runs away from 150.
How to watch Braves on Gray
The Braves and Gray Media announced two broadcast offerings, including Opening Day, to fans across Braves Country through Braves on Gray local television stations, reaching 26 markets throughout the Southeast.
For broadcast times, channel information and additional details, fans are encouraged to click here and check local Gray Media station listings in their markets.
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