I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball thoughts for every MLB team. I’ll take a look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and offseason news to try and highlight the nuggets that might help you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in alphabetical order and next up are three thoughts for the 2025 Atlanta Braves.
3 Fantasy Baseball Thoughts for the 2025 Atlanta Braves
Marcell Ozuna is in the Midst of a Second Act
After a second straight dominant season, it’s clear that 2021 and 2022 were merely a blimp on the radar for Marcell Ozuna. He followed up a 40 home run, 100 RBI season by going deep 39 times last year while driving in 104 runs. Ozuna also took advantage of being in a strong Atlanta lineup by scoring 96 times. While a .359 BABIP could be pointed to as a contributing factor to his .302 average, his xBA was .290. However, with a 70.9% contact rate, it’s hard to expect him to hit much more than .270.
But does it really matter or change anything? Even with Ozuna only being eligible at DH, he’s still an elite option at the plate. Ozuna’s ISO last season was .244 and it came with a hard-hit rate of 53.4%. He posted his best average exit velocity, 92.2 miles per hour, since 2020 along with a 15.4% barrel rate.
We can’t overstate the quality of Ozuna’s contact, and seeing a 40/100 season wouldn’t be surprising, and is in fact, expected.
Austin Riley Won’t Miss a Beat
Based on his early ADP, the market is very much in alignment with that. After a season that saw Riley play in just 110 games, the stage is set for the third baseman to get right back on track. Prior to last year, Riley finished with between 33 and 38 home runs and 93 and 107 RBI. The impact of that level of consistency shouldn’t be take for granted.
Overall, Riley hit .256 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI. He didn’t play after August, but it was really his early season struggles that he had to overcome. Through May, Riley had just three home runs in 42 games along with 18 RBI. In those months, he hit .226 and .231 while digging himself into a hole that he clearly has the ability to bounce back from.
Riley’s barrel rate was 14.9% to go along with a career-high hard-hit rate of 53.4%. That came with another career high in the form of his 93.3 miles per hour average exit velocity. There’s no reason not to expect Riley to bridge the gap between his .461 SLG and .517 xSLG as he gets back to his elite performance level.
Reynaldo Lopez Will Have Another Strong Season, Just Not Elite
Last season, Reynaldo Lopez had a dominant first season in Atlanta. The right-hander moved back into the rotation and finished with a 1.99 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts, over 135.2 innings. Now he is poised for encore, but we do need to keep our expectations in line.
Lopez struck out more than a batter inning, 9.82, while keeping the walks under control with less than three. Perhaps more notable, was the fact that Lopez only allowed 0.66 home runs per nine innings. He did benefit from an 87% strand rate, and that is something we have to keep an eye on in 2025. In the worst-case scenario though, Lopez’s xERA was 3.88 last year with his 2.92 FIP a solid midpoint.
While his fastball velocity dipped from his peak as a reliever, Lopez’s stuff still plays at an average fastball velocity of 95.7 miles per hour. Hitters didn’t make especially strong contact off Lopez last year, and the right-hander should be a solid rotation option once again. Just don’t expect sheer domination.
Got beef with Mick’s 2025 points league rankings? Pick your gnits in the comments below! For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.