Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves have a monster array of talent but there are three young players and newcomers who should make their first All-Star Game in 2023.
Between winning the World Series in 2021 and then winning the NL East this past season before a hard-to-swallow playoff exit, the Atlanta Braves have enjoyed quite a bit of success. And even looking at the roster without Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson after the past two offseasons, it’s not hard to see why with the collection of talent the team has.
But the truth of the matter is that the Braves have been successful because they have been able to take the majority of their homegrown talent and lock those players in early. That’s even been true with young players like Matt Olson who have come to Atlanta by way of trade. What that also means is that players can become stars along the route of a Ronald Acuña Jr. or Max Fried with the club too.
We should see quite a bit of that in the 2023 season. In particular, these three Braves players seem on the trajectory to make the All-Star Game for the first time in their careers this year.
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Braves: 3 players who will definitely be first-time All-Stars in 2023
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Sean Murphy
C Atlanta Braves
Sean Murphy in the loaded Braves lineup is due for a career year
Atlanta’s big move this offseason was to deal for former Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy in a deal that sent William Contreras to Milwaukee. While it might not have looked like much to casual baseball fans, the 28-year-old catcher has been a stud in his two full major league seasons with the Athletics.
Not only is Murphy an absolute stud with the leather behind the plate, but he’s tallied 35 home runs and 125 RBI along with 62 other extra-base hits over the past two seasons while slashing .236/.321/.417 along the way. And that was while being part of a lineup in Oakland that, to put it as kindly as possible, offered him about as little protection in the lineup as humanly possible.
With the Braves, that changes tremendously. This is one of the best lineups in all of baseball from top to bottom with no easy out, which is going to force many more pitchers to go after Murphy when he’s at the plate. That should, in theory, allow him to become an even more dangerous and productive hitter.
On top of that, while Travis d’Arnaud remains on the roster, the plan appears to be for Murphy and him to alternate between the DH and catcher spots in the lineup, which could result in more opportunities in that regard as well. All told, it’s shaping up for a career year for the newcomer to Atlanta, which should earn him an All-Star nod.