Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Braves have started the 2026 season with a league-best 20-9 record, matching the Dodgers despite missing multiple key starters and pitchers.
- Despite operating with a depleted roster, first-year manager Walt Weiss has guided Atlanta, defying expectations.
- Although the Dodgers’ stronger early schedule and deeper roster still grant them the favorite status, the Braves are forcing a re-evaluation of who’s on top.
The hottest team in baseball to start the 2026 season is a club that missed the postseason entirely a year ago. The Atlanta Braves are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers with the best record in baseball at 20-9. We all know with the major free agent signings and the construction of a superteam the Dodgers have completed that they were going to be heavy World Series favorites but Atlanta continues to make a case for themselves.
The Braves are the only team in the entire league that has yet to lose a series. If their 20-9 start is not impressive enough, how about the fact they are far from fully healthy. Starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach (out for the year), Spencer Strider (returning soon) and Hurston Waldrep (out for the season) have all been sidelined with injury. Their number one shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and every day player (C/DH) Sean Murphy have yet to play a game this season as well.
Most clubs in the MLB would just be hoping for a .500 start to the season with these amount of injuries but first year Braves' manager Walt Weiss has defied the odds by flawlessly managing the players he has healthy and leading them to be the first team to 20 wins this season. Is this enough to view the Braves as the team to beat over the Dodgers?
Dodgers still have the upper hand over the Braves
Despite an incredible start to the season, the Braves somehow still have a lot to prove. Perhaps the way Atlanta's historic 2024 season came to an end reminds us that the good can turn ugly in a blink of an eye. Two seasons ago, the Braves had one of the most prolific offenses in MLB history but when it mattered most they struggled to score runs.
We are not even 1/5th of the way through the 2026 season so believe it or not, the Braves are going to have to continue this hot stretch for quite a bit longer before they pass the Dodgers as the best team in baseball.
Other factors to consider is the schedule these two teams have played to start their years. Atlanta has had the luxury of playing two series against the Philadelphia Phillies twice (which is usually an obstacle) who has been the worst team all of baseball this season.
The Dodgers on the other hand have already had matchups against tougher opponents like the Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants and Cubs. Atlanta has not exactly had a cake-walk and have beaten good teams like the Royals and Guardians but at the end of the day they have had it a little easier than the Dodgers have.
The Dodgers still remain the team to beat in the MLB but the Braves aren't just in their rear view mirrior, they are tailgating their bumper.
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