With the Atlanta Braves a little over a month into their 2025 season, Statcast is already far along enough with a large enough set of data to at least make some early observations.

While seeing Marcell Ozuna lighting up the hitting stats or seeing Michael Harris II at the bottom of the chase charts was largely expected, there are six surprises from mound and at the plate that will likely have Braves fans doing a double take.

Atlanta Braves hitting Statcast surprises

Drake Baldwin has the highest-hard hit rate on the Braves

While Sean Murphy is second on the Braves in homers, it’s actually the other member of the catching tandum who leads the team in hard-hit rate.

Drake Baldwin hasn’t been getting a lot of playing time thanks to Murphy playing well and Ozuna anchoring the DH spot. However, when the 24-year-old rookie does get to play, he’s smoked the ball. In fact, his 70.8% hard-hit rate isn’t just the best on the Braves, it would be the best in baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, as he entered Thursday with a hard-hit rate three points higher than Shohei Ohtani.

After some first week bad luck, Baldwin’s approach is paying off, as he currently has a 122 wRC+ and a .271/.338/.458 slashline.

Austin Riley is faster than Michael Harris II

Austin Riley has always been sneaky fast and it’s continued on into this season. While Money Mike was doing his best to prove he was faster than the Athletics Lawrence Butler, he should’ve been focusing on proving he’s faster than his own teammate.

Riley and Harris are both registered at 28.4 ft/sec, but Riley is in the 84th percentile and Harris’s is in the 83rd percentile.

Riley still doesn’t utilize his speed quite like you’d expect a player in his percentile to, but he has made sure to get a stolen base in this season.

Nick Allen is 100th percentile defensively and 2nd percentile offensively

Nick Allen being great at defense isn’t necessarily a surprise, nor is him being on the weaker end offensively, but the combination of being a top-three defender and while simultaneously being one of the worst hitters by xwOBA is facinating.

Allen’s managed to keep up a high BABIP to keep him from being a truly bad hitter, but the shortstop still hasn’t registered a barrel, one of just 10 qualified players going into Friday’s game.

Braves pitching Statcast surprises

Daysbel Hernandez is elite

Daysbel Hernandez has been one of the most reliable Braves relievers this season, but Braves fans might be surprised just how dominant he’s been this season.

According to Baseball Savant, the righty is at least 80th percentile or better in eighth pitching categories, including xERA, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate. Unlike his previous two seasons, however, he hasn’t gotten a lot of strikeouts. If Hernandez is able to elevate his strikeout rate to similar levels to 2023 and 2024, he might become one of the most dangerous relievers in baseball.

Pierce Johnson is elite

One unheralded member of the pen, Pierce Johnson, has actually been exceptional this year. Despite being a key figure for the Braves in high-leverage situations over the last few seasons, Johnson’s taken a bit of a backseat.

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t pitched well, however. Baseball Savant ranks his curveball in the 95th percentile in run value, and his xERA, xBA, and strikeout rate are all in the 90th percentile or better.

Raisel Iglesias has been as bad as you think

Unfortunately for Raisel Iglesias, the rough start to the 2025 season isn’t just bad luck. After being a lockdown closer in 2024, Iglesias has a 5.40 ERA in 15 innings pitched this year. His slider is in the first percentile in run value, with Baseball Savant ranking it as the third-worst pitch in baseball.

He also has the fifth-worst barrel rate in baseball and the ninth-highest average exit velocity allowed. While there’s still a chance Iglesias gets back on track, his metrics have been every bit as ugly as it’s looked like.