Atlanta Braves Are the Best Home Run Hitting Team in Baseball

The Atlanta Braves have been one of the best teams in baseball for several seasons. While they have been led by some impressive pitching staffs over the years, their offense has been a model of consistency. This season, Atlanta continues to demonstrate why they are one of the best offenses in the sport.

The Braves have the best run differential in the National League at +106, which is 60 more runs than the next best NL team. They’ve won eight games in a row, and their offense has been firing on all cylinders, averaging 5.46 runs per game on the year.

The Braves’ lineup is impressively well-rounded, filled with players who bring great approaches to the plate and deliver all throughout the batting order. They have an offensive strategy that all ball clubs strive to achieve, as they’ve been successful at hitting for contact while also being the league’s best home run hitting team.

The Braves have excelled at putting the ball in play this season. They have 671 hits on the year, which is the fourth most in the Majors. As a ball club, they are hitting .269 and getting on base at a .339 clip, which are both the second-best marks in baseball. They also have the league’s best team wOBA, which sits at .352 on the year.

However, the headline for Atlanta’s offense revolves around their power hitting prowess. They’ve been one of the most prolific power-hitting offenses in baseball, and they’ve been pacing the league in homers since the 2021 season.

All stats were taken prior to play on June 22nd

The Best Home Run Hitting Team In Baseball

Since the 2021 season, Atlanta leads all Major League teams with 610 home runs. In that same time frame, the Yankees are second with 583 home runs and the Dodgers are third with 565. They’ve been the cream of the crop in terms of hitting home runs, and they’ve done it consistently for multiple seasons in a row.

After finishing with the second-most homers last season with 243, the Braves are once again pacing MLB in long balls in 2023. Their 128 home runs this year are the most in the sport, with the Tampa Bay Rays behind them with 117. They have consistent power threats placed throughout their lineup, and it’s leading to offensive success.

Atlanta has seven players with double-digit home runs totals so far this season, which is the most on any single team. Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies lead the way with 21 and 17, respectively, and Ronald Acuna Jr. is bolstering his case for NL MVP by launching 15 home runs thus far in 2023.

The Braves’ star third baseman, Austin Riley, has the ability to flirt with 40 homers in a season. He finished 2022 as the Braves’ home run leader with 38, and while he has been off to a slow start in 2023, he has still managed to make his power presence felt with 12 home runs this season.

Newcomer Sean Murphy has settled in nicely in his new home in Truist Park. He’s putting up the best offensive season of his career, matching Riley’s home run total of 12 thus far. Not to mention, Atlanta’s role players are also stepping up in big moments.

Outfielder Eddie Rosario has tapped back into his power stroke from his days in Minnesota, and Marcel Ozuna has bounced back from a brutal start to the season. Each have 13 homers on the year, and they have been valuable contributors the power surge that is happening in Atlanta.

Nearly every starter in the Braves’ lineup has double digit home runs, providing no breaks in their batting order for opposing pitchers.

Each of the past two seasons, the Braves have ended the year with a home run to fly ball rate (HR/FB) just over 15.5%. However, in 2023, Atlanta has seen their HR/FB rate increase to 18.3%, which is the highest in MLB by a wide margin (Tampa Bay has the second-highest rate at 15.7%).

Despite the offense posting a relatively similar fly ball rate, the Braves are having more of their fly balls leave the park relative to the previous two seasons. It’s a noteworthy increase, and their jump in HR/FB rate will be something to monitor as the season progresses.

Aggressive Offensive Approach

Atlanta has demonstrated an aggressive offensive approach in 2023. They are attacking pitches inside the strike zone, and they have been excellent at capitalizing on pitcher’s mistakes. However, it was a surprise to see the Braves near the bottom of the league in bat-to-ball numbers, given how successful their offense has been this season.

They have the second-worst zone contact rate in baseball ay 79.5%, and they have a slightly below-league average whiff rate at 26.7% And yet, they have been able to limit the strikeouts and generate the most impactful contact of any team in baseball. Braves’ players have the green light at the plate, swinging early and often in at-bats.

As a team, the Braves have the third-highest swing rate in baseball at 49.4%. They also have the highest zone swing rate at 70.4%, and they have the sixth-highest first pitch swing rate at 32.5%. And yet, they haven’t been susceptible to the punch out. Instead, the Braves have the eigth-best strikeout rate in MLB at 21.7%, which is well-above the league average number of 22.7%.

Offensively, Atlanta continues to be one of the most efficient teams in baseball. They capitalize on mistakes when they need to, generating high-quality contact when they do connect with a pitch. Because of this, no deficit is insurmountable for the Braves.

They have the ability to bury teams with their electric bats, and they have the potential to claw their way back in games with their consistent power threats.

Hitting Them Often, and Hitting Them Far

The Braves have an average home run distance of 411 feet, which is the second-farthest only behind the Colorado Rockies. However, they’re on pace to make history in terms of how often they’re hitting deep home runs this season.

Since this tweet on June 15^th, the Braves have hit two more homers that were hit over 450 feet, bringing their total to 16 on the season. They now have 10 more home runs that traveled 450+ feet than the next closest team, which remains the Rockies and Angles who are tied with six.

Individually, Ronald Acuna Jr. has six home runs that have gone 450+ feet. It is amazing the type of season Ronald Acuna Jr. is putting together, and he is leading the charge for the Braves in this insane feat.

However, Acuna Jr. isn’t alone on the leaderboard. Braves’ teammates Matt Olson and Austin Riley are tied for the third-most home runs hit over 450 feet with three each. The Braves might make history in 2023 in terms of most frequent moon shots, but it’s something Atlanta have been successful at doing dating back to the 2021 season.

Since the 2021 season, Atlanta has 29 home runs that have traveled 450+ feet, which is the second-most across the Majors. They trail only the Rockies, who have 39, meanwhile the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays are tied for third with 17.

Profound Power Metrics

Atlanta’s power metrics have been off the charts this season. Given how successful Atlanta has been at hitting the long ball in 2023, it’s no surprise to see them lead MLB in numerous offensive metrics.

No other team in baseball is making more impactful or higher-quality contact than the Atlanta Braves. They have 233 barrels on the season, which is 46 more than the next-best team. Additionally, their hard hit rate is almost two percent better than the second-best team, which is the St. Louis Cardinals at 44.1%.

Atlanta’s franchise record for most home runs in a season came back in 2019 with 249, and they’re on pace to smash that record this season. We’re not even halfway through the 2023 season, and the Braves already have more than half that number. They’ve put on a masterful display of power-hitting, and it has led to them being one of the best teams in baseball yet again.

The Atlanta Braves currently hold the best record in the National League at 48-26, and they have a six-game lead in the NL East division. They’ve won the NL East five years in a row, and now they’re looking to make it six-straight on the backs of the best home run hitting lineup in Major League Baseball.