The Atlanta Braves were considered one of the elite teams in the National League heading into this season. And thus far, they've lived up to that hype. Currently, the Braves are in first place in the NL East, set at 28-16, with the second-best record in the NL behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and third-best overall in the MLB. Even with a plethora of injuries in only a month and a half of the season, two including at the top of their rotation (Kyle Wright, Max Fried), the Braves haven't shown many signs of slowing down. And some of that is due to unsung heroes.

We all know what to expect when we see the Braves, right? It's Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, etc. It's a long lineup with no easy outs. What many forget is about the bottom of the lineup, where the Braves have been thriving at for the last couple of seasons.

Oh, you probably think I'm talking about Michael Harris II, don't you? Well, I'm not talking about him necessarily. The 2022 NL Rookie of the Year took the nine-hole spot last season for the Braves and made his presence known within the lineup, along with his exceptional defense. Harris has been bothered by some nagging injuries this season, however, and has missed some time. There's a couple around that seven, eight, and nine-hole not named Michael Harris II that have helped the Braves score runs here lately that fans probably didn't want just a month ago.

Orlando Arcia

After Braves' fans witnessed how contract negotiations between the team and beloved fan favorite 1B Freddie Freeman went down two offseason ago after winning a World Series, most knew that SS Dansby Swanson, whose contract was ending after last season, days as a Brave were over. It didn't help that Swanson was represented by the same agency as Freeman. The writing was on the wall.

The Braves who were struggling yet again with injuries last season, this time to 2B Ozzie Albies, and at the time, infielder Orlando Arcia, and had no choice but to rely on the Double-A talent of Vaughn Grissom to cover their infield absences. Grissom was one of the highly touted prospects coming out of the Braves farm system and Atlanta was just hoping they could catch the same magic with him as they had with his teammate, Harris.

Grissom has his moments of offensive production in 2022, but his defense still lacked, although he played the majority of his time at second base. When Arcia went down after suffering a microfracture in his wrist in April this season, Grissom was called on again. Grissom filled in but seemed even worse than last season, this time playing shortstop. Braves' fans couldn't help but question GM Alex Anthopoulos' decision not to resign Swanson, who, like Freeman, was a beloved fan favorite.

Since Orlando Arcia's return on the active lineup nearly two weeks ago, he's quickly been making people forget that 1. he was hurt, and 2. that the Braves needed Swanson or anyone else at shortstop.

From May 7 to May 19, Arcia has been nothing short of outstanding. In 38 plate appearances, he has five runs, 12 hits, five doubles, two home runs, six RBI's, three walks, with a slash line of .343/.395/.657 and OPS of 1.052. While defensively he's accounted for no errors where Grissom had six.

While it was a bit of a shock to see Arcia sign a three-year extension the day before the season started, it was a telling sign of where Anthopoulos thought the Braves were at the shortstop position. So far, it's been yet another genius, financially savvy move by the Braves GM.

Marcell Ozuna

Braves fans have been looking for the Marcell Ozuna from the 2020 season to return. The one that led the league in home runs and RBIs that season. It was in the 2020 pandemic-shortened season that earned Ozuna a new four-year, $64 million contract with the Braves. The slugger has yet to truly earn that contract, though.

In May of 2021, Ozuna was arrested at his Georgia home on two counts of domestic battery. Ozuna, who was actually out with a hand injury at the time after making an awkward slide in a game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, was shown to be not only choking his wife but also hitting her with his injured hand that was in a cast.

It was beyond a bad look for not only Ozuna but the Braves as well, as they had no other choice but to stick with the outfielder, who had a guaranteed contract. That wouldn't be the only incident with the law for Ozuna, however.

In August of 2022, Ozuna would face his second arrest in 15 months after being pulled over for a DUI. To make matters even worse, cop cam footage showed that Ozuna was attempting to play the local celebrity card when he told the police officer, “Sorry, I'm Ozuna from the Braves.”

Needless to say, fans had given up on Ozuna ever returning to his 2020 form but also wondered how much longer he'd be wearing a Braves uniform at all. The question would be asked even more as the 2023 season began.

Ozuna, from March 30 to April 26, had an abysmal batting average of .085 with only five hits and two home runs. Most fans thought that this was finally it, that this would be enough for the Braves to finally rid themselves of the 32-year-old outfielder. It was not.

Somehow, someway, the Braves never wavered — and it seems to have worked out for them.

From May 2 to May 17, Ozuna looked like a completely different player. In that time, he's hit .302 with 13 hits and six home runs. He's still not an everyday player, but he's making his case to be and making a deep Braves lineup even deeper by adding to the bottom of the lineup.

It's good for Marcell Ozuna, and Braves' fans, that he can still say, “I'm Ozuna from the Braves.”