ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball, and now they have five players with at least 25 home runs in their lineup. They are looking to surpass the mark set by the 2019 Minnesota Twins, who had five hitters with at least 30 home runs.
Marcell Ozuna, who has 222 home runs in his career, is having a resurgence in 2023. He has 26 home runs with 62 runs batted in, and he joined Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, and Ozzie Albies in the 25 home runs or more club. Olson is leading the way for the Braves with 43 round-trippers.
Jake Mastroianni, host of Locked On Braves, discussed Ozuna’s turnaround on the latest episode of his show.
“I was wrong about Marcell Ozuna. I thought he’d be gone by the All-Star break,” Mastroianni said. “And now look at where he is.”
Mastroianni went through the biggest changes Ozuna has made, and he began by discussing Ozuna’s 2020. Ozuna finished sixth in MVP voting in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, batting .338/.431/.636 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. He led the Majors in plate appearances (267) and led the National League in home runs and runs batted in, and played in all 60 games for the Braves.
That same season, Ozuna’s walk rate was 14.2%, which is excellent. That number dipped in both 2021 and 2022 when he only walked at a 6% rate. He rebounded a bit in 2023 with a 9.7% walk rate and is trending in the right direction.
"My biggest issue with Ozuna coming into this season was that he could get you 25-30 home runs; that was never a problem for him," Mastroianni continued. "But he never did anything outside of that.”
That’s why Ozuna’s walk rate going up is a good thing for him and the Braves. It makes him less one-dimensional and helps the lineup immensely, especially as the designated hitter. Mastroianni added, “He (Ozuna) wasn’t doing the little things aside from those home runs that made him a viable everyday player.”
Another stat that took a hit in his down years of ‘21 and ‘22 was his hard-hit rate. In 2020, Ozuna’s hard-hit rate was 46%. It dropped down to 33.5 in 2021 and 2022, but in 2023, like his walk rate, his hard-hit rate is trending upward at 39.1%.
And the last stat Mastroianni looked at was his opposite field rate. In 2020, Ozuna hit the ball to the opposite field 26% of the time. In 2021 and 2022, it dropped down to 21%, but in 2023, it’s actually better than in 2020 at 28%.
Mastroianni believes those three areas are why Ozuna is having a turnaround season in 2023.
Ozuna has once again become the better all-around player that he was in 2020 by hitting the ball the other way more, hitting the ball hard, and taking his walks, and he’s one of the many reasons why the Braves are leading the Majors with 80 wins and are a World Series favorite.
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