Since the turn of the decade, the Braves have produced two different National League MVPs. Freddie Freeman won it during the COVID-shortened season, and Ronald Acuña Jr. won it a few years later following his historic 40/70 campaign. In 2025, Austin Riley will make it three different Braves to win the award in six seasons, which would be an incredible testament to the development of homegrown talent within the organization.
This continues a series of bold predictions for the Braves in 2025. If you missed the first part of this series, follow the link below:
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The National League is loaded with stars capable of producing an MVP caliber seasons. Shohei Ohtani might be the best player to ever step foot on a baseball diamond, and his teammates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman aren’t too shabby either. Juan Soto would love to make a loud impression in his new home in Queens, and there are a number of dark-horse candidates capable of putting together career years and winning the award for the first time. If Ohtani is fully healthy, nobody should bet against him, but all it takes is one minor injury or a slump to really open up the door for the rest of the candidates.
Austin Riley is coming off a down year in 2024. One in which he started the season slow and ended on the IL, missing the final two months after suffering a broken wrist. However, he was scorching hot at the time of the injury and looked to be well on his way to another 5 WAR season, which would have made four in a row.
In his last three fully healthy seasons, Riley has recorded at least 5.9 WAR, finishing inside the top seven of the NL MVP race each time. However, it does feel like he’s still capable of a little more. This is a player that doesn’t really have any weaknesses in his game. Riley has improved his defense at the hot corner to where it’s fair to call him above average. He’s hit over .300 in a season and has a career-high of 38 homers, which feels like a number he can easily eclipse, given his raw power.
It’s going to take a monster season to win the National League MVP this year. Austin Riley is typically a guy who starts off a little slow, and then plays like the best offensive player in baseball during the summer months. With a better start to the season, he can easily hit 40+ homers, perhaps even 50, and if he pairs that with a batting average around .300 and good defense, I like him to become the third Braves player to win the MVP award in the last six years.
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Photographer: Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire
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