Despite a league-leading 41 doubles from Matt Olson, he lost a close race to Pete Alonso, while Austin Riley’s injury-shortened season wasn’t enough to top Manny Machado
ATLANTA — While most of the 2025 season was a “nightmare” that Atlanta Braves fans were just hoping to awake from, there were some individual positives. Catcher Drake Baldwin played so well that he was named a National League Rookie of the Year finalist. On top of that, the Braves did manage to have two Silver Slugger finalists in Matt Olson and Austin Riley, despite the team’s struggles.
Unfortunately, both Riley and Olson faced stiff competition. When the winners were announced Thursday on FanSided’s “Baseball Insiders” YouTube channel, neither Braves slugger won.
Riley and Olson Fall Short
Riley losing his race was not a surprise, as it was “honestly much more surprising” that he was named a finalist in the first place. Riley only played in 102 games before his season was ended by hernia surgery. San Diego’s Manny Machado led all NL third basemen by a “substantial margin” with a 123 wRC+ and was the correct choice for the award.
The race at first base between Olson, the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, and the Mets’ Pete Alonso was “decidedly less clear.”
Olson had a strong case for the hardware, posting an .850 OPS with 29 home runs and a league-leading 41 doubles.
Sadly for Atlanta, Alonso and his 38 home runs and 141 wRC+ ended up taking home the trophy in a closely grouped field.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The offensive shutout closes the book on a frustrating 2025. It will be interesting to see how the offense performs under new manager Walt Weiss with everyone “completely healthy for a change.”
The core of Olson, Riley, Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Ozzie Albies are all capable of putting up Silver Slugger-type seasons. Time will tell if they can produce the results needed to be in the conversation by the end of 2026.
