A .302 common and a walk-off grand slam. A homer in three straight video games. A 1.063 OPS over the previous month. A .400 common with runners in scoring place and two outs.
These may very well be the highlights of an All-Star and even an MVP candidate. However on this case, they characterize among the particular person contributions of Dominic Smith, Mauricio Dubón, Mike Yastrzemski and Jorge Mateo, a quartet of gamers the Braves acquired to be platoon or depth items however who’ve been pressed into greater roles by circumstance and have emerged as among the key components to the crew’s success in 2026.
Actually, the group has given Atlanta its deepest bench in years, with every offering a number of large moments in the course of the first two months and collectively acting at a stage not anticipated when every was acquired earlier than the season.
One might even argue that Smith, Dubón, Yastrzemski and Mateo are collectively among the many high two or three explanation why the Braves have rebounded from a nasty 2025 and produced a stellar 2026.
Earlier than we break them down individually, a have a look at their group work:
Backside line: They have been dependable and productive. Here is a deeper look.
A profession .250 hitter with a .720 OPS coming into the season, the veteran Smith has leveled up in his time with the Braves. He was signed to a break up contract late in Spring Coaching after the PED suspension of Jurickson Profar, who was slated to be the Braves’ main designated hitter, and Smith has actually made the many of the alternative. He enters Tuesday batting .302 (which might simply be a profession excessive over a full season) with an .817 OPS. When he begins, he is batting .317 with an .856 OPS and has a .500 common (7-for-14) with two outs and runners in scoring place. His success has made him a darkish horse candidate for the NL All-Star crew. Not dangerous for a man who initially signed a Minor League contract in February.
Acquired in an offseason commerce with the Astros, the Gold Glove-winning utilityman was initially seen largely as a backup to shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, however was pressed into common beginning obligation when Kim missed many of the first two months with a finger harm sustained within the offseason. However shortstop apart, Dubón has gotten near-everyday enjoying time due to his potential to play a number of positions — and he is thrived. He enters Tuesday hitting .352 with runners in scoring place, together with a .407 common with RISP and two outs.
After a powerful Spring Coaching, Yastrzemski struggled within the early a part of the season, hitting simply .209 with a .555 OPS by April. However he started to heat up in Might and over the previous calendar month has hit .313 with a 1.063 OPS. He has six go-ahead RBIs on the season, together with a walk-off double towards the Pink Sox, his Corridor of Fame grandfather’s former crew. Over a nine-game stretch from Might 12-21 (26 plate appearances), he slugged .955.
The speedy Mateo was signed to a one-year deal a day after it was introduced that Kim would begin the season on the injured checklist, and the plan was for him to be the backup to Dubón at shortstop and function a pinch-runner late in video games. However Mateo started forcing his method into the lineup with a scorching bat, and he is turn into considerably of a lineup common as Kim has struggled since his return from the IL in Might. As a starter, Mateo is hitting .308 with three homers and an .832 OPS. Total, he has a .400 common with RISP.
The 4 have represented fairly a turnaround for Braves reserves in recent times.
Although there isn’t any good stat to measure the standard of a crew’s bench from yr to yr, take into account this: From 2022-25, Atlanta’s pinch-hitters hit .213 with a .611 OPS and 28 RBIs. That RBI complete ranked final within the NL throughout that point whereas the OPS ranked subsequent to final.
This season, Braves pinch-hitters had 17 RBIs by Sunday (finest within the NL) and had been batting .273 (second-best) with a .782 OPS (fourth-best). Practically half of these RBIs (eight) have come from the quartet of Smith, Dubón, Yastrzemski and Mateo. And whereas every of the 4 has had a much bigger affect as a starter, they’ve every given supervisor Walt Weiss the boldness to make use of them off the bench when the scenario calls.
That is the definition of the deep bench, which might probably assist propel the Braves deep into the postseason.
