Ronald Acuña and 2 more Braves who could be dark horse MVP candidates

By Drew Koch | Feb 4, 2023

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 04: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his fifth inning two run home run against the New York Mets with teammates Michael Harris II #23 and Matt Olson #28 at Citi Field on August 04, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

2 of 3

Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Braves third baseman Austin Riley could be a dark horse MVP candidate.

Austin Riley received a massive contract extension with the Atlanta Braves last year. With the intent of keeping their core intact for the long haul, Riley was signed to a 10-year/$212M contract with a team-option for the 2032 season. In short, Riley will be in A-Town for a long time.

Riley was in the MVP conversation last season, finishing sixth in the voting despite the fact he had a higher OPS than Mookie Betts (who finished fifth in the voting) and more home runs than any of the other Top 6 vote-getters.

If Riley is going to make some noise in 2023, he’s going to have to slug his way into the NL MVP conversation. Riley’s .528 slugging percentage was just a touch below the .531 slugging percentage he posted in 2021, and it helped him make his way to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Austin Riley’s slugging percentage was Top 5 in the league and only Kyle Schwarber (46) and Pete Alonso (40) had more home runs. Riley will be in prime position in Brian Snitker’s batting order to drive in runs and post some ridiculous numbers in 2023.

Home/Atlanta Braves