Marcell Ozuna breakout is even better news for Braves than you think

Things haven't gone exactly how the Atlanta Braves envisioned it to begin the 2024 campaign. The team's ace, Spencer Strider, is out for the season. The reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. has just one home run. Austin Riley has a .677 OPS. Matt Olson has three hits in his last 37 at-bats and hasn't hit a home run since April 7th. Max Fried's ERA is just a shade under 5.00.

Despite all that has gone wrong, Atlanta enters play on Sunday with an 18-7 record. It's not only the best record in the NL, but it's the best record in all of baseball. The biggest reason that the Braves sit in such a great position is the play of Marcell Ozuna who has looked like a MVP candidate.

Ozuna's ascension into the elite hitter he has been for almost a full season now is great for the Braves in the present day, obviously, but is even better news than you might have thought.

Marcell Ozuna's breakout is even better news for the Braves

There was a point in time when Ozuna's contract looked like an albatross. He was struggling on the field and ran into all sorts of problems off of it. Now, it looks unbelievable.

The 33-year-old is making $16 million this season and has a club option for the 2025 campaign worth another $16 million. Sure, $16 million is a bit expensive for a player who is purely a DH, but when he hits like this, who cares?

Ozuna is slashing .354/.431/.698 with nine home runs and 31 RBI. He leads the league in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. He has a 210 OPS+. If Mookie Betts didn't exist, there's a good chance he'd be the front-runner for NL MVP. He's been that good.

Now, there's a good chance that Ozuna won't hit at this level all season long, but since May 1 of last season, he ranks third in the majors in home runs, leads the majors in RBI, and is sixth in WRC+. He ranks ahead of his teammate, Acuña, the reigning MVP, in all three categories.

The Braves having the option to keep Ozuna next season at such a cheap price is a game-changer. Worst case scenario, if he struggles to round out the season, they don't have to bring him back. It's entirely in their control. Just another Alex Anthopoulos masterclass.