At the start of every baseball season, there are milestones to keep an eye out for, and the Atlanta Braves are far from an exception to the rule. A few of their stars, including Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Jurickson Profar, are all on pace to reach some new career milestones in the upcoming season, whether in hits, home runs or RBIs. We’ll look at those three here.
Ronald Acuña, Jr. is within striking distance of a few milestones. However, he’ll get his own article due to the sheer number of milestones he’s chasing in 2026. Stay tuned.
Matt Olson – Home Runs, Iron Man Streak
Matt Olson, who’s been the first baseman for the Braves since the departure of Freddie Freeman at the end of the 2021 World Series run, has been stellar for Atlanta since the team acquired him from the Athletics on an eight-year, $168 million contract.
In 2023, Olson was the National League home run leader, shattering the Braves’ record for home runs in a season. He’s been a power bat throughout his career, earning him the chance to set a career milestone in 2026: 300 career home runs.
The first baseman currently sits at 288 home runs in his career. He’s averaged 28 long balls per season, though, so he’s firmly on pace to not only reach the milestone but easily surpass it.
Olson has never missed a game in a Braves uniform, playing 162 games in each of the four seasons he’s been with Atlanta, so barring an injury, he’s sure to have little to no trouble in joining the exclusive club of just eight active MLB players who’ve achieved that milestone.
Speaking of his consistency, Olson finished the 2025 season with a 782 consecutive games played streak, the longest of any active player. He’s currently ranked 12th all-time in terms of the stat, passing both Pete Rose and Dale Murphy last season.
Olson only needs to play the first 41 games of the season to crack the top 10, and if he plays all 162 games again this season, he’d be looking at eighth place all-time and could continue his historic streak into 2027.
The top two spots on that leaderboard, held by Cal Ripken, Jr., and Lou Gehrig, eclipse the 2,000 games mark. Olson is unlikely to reach these heights, as he’d have to keep this consistency all the way until he’s 42. However, Olson is more than halfway to the third spot on the charts, but he’ll need to not miss a game until mid-2029.
Austin Riley – Hits, RBIs
Austin Riley has been a reliable defensive piece for Atlanta for many years now, but his production at the plate solidifies him as an all-around great for the Braves. He’s firmly on pace to surpass 500 career RBI’s in 2026, as his career 483 RBI’s leave him needing just 17.
Riley averages a staggering 69 RBIs a season, so he could very well fly straight past the 500 mark to around 550 RBIs. He’s not had a season over 107 RBIs, so 600 career RBIs would be a stretch for the third baseman in 2026.
Another hitting milestone that Riley could achieve in 2026 is 1,000 career hits, though it’d be a challenge for the 28-year-old, who has just 850 hits in his career. Riley averages 121 hits a season, putting him statistically off pace, but he’s had multiple seasons where he’s eclipsed the 150 hit mark, so 1,000 hits could very well be within reach.
Though Riley’s hitting production has dipped slightly in recent years due to injuries, when he’s injury-free, he’s been known to go on hitting tears. Notably, Riley averaged 150 hits per season from 2021 to 2023, so the 1,000 hit mark is within reach, though it’ll take a return to younger form from the Tennessee native.
Jurickson Profar – Hits, RBIs
Another Brave on pace for milestones in the hits and RBIs categories is outfielder Jurickson Profar, whom the Braves picked up in 2025 on a three-year, $42 million contract. Profar missed 80 games in his first season with Atlanta due to an illegal substance suspension, but his production in recent years for the Rangers and Padres has put him on pace for both the 1,000 hits and 500 RBIs milestones.
Though Riley and Profar are looking for the same milestones in 2026, the 32-year-old Profar is set to have a much easier time getting there. Profar would nearly need to be inactive to miss out on the 1,000 career hits milestone, as he’s accumulated 995 hits in his MLB career. He’s averaging 83 hits per season but has had multiple seasons over 105 hits, leaving the 1,100 hit mark well within reach.
Profar has also boasted 487 RBIs in his career, averaging 41 per season, so he’s quite likely to eclipse the 500 RBIs mark. Since 2020, Profar has only had one season in which he’s put up less than 13 RBIs, and that season he played just 14 games.
The Curaçao native currently sits firmly at the top of the left field depth chart for the Braves in 2026, so barring another extenuating circumstance, he’s likely to join Riley in the pursuit of career hit and RBI milestones.
