ATLANTA -- It’s easy to understand why many consider the Braves to be one of this season’s elite teams. Ronald Acuña Jr. is a heavy early favorite to win the National League MVP, and catcher Sean Murphy owns MLB’s second-best fWAR. As for Spencer Strider, he is arguably the game’s most exciting starting pitcher.

But it’s not the star power that makes this Braves team so special. It’s the quality depth created by Bryce Elder’s rise and the rejuvenation of players like Orlando Arcia and Marcell Ozuna, who combined to highlight a two-run seventh that propelled Atlanta to a 6-2 comeback win over the Mariners on Friday night at Truist Park.

“We play like a family and we all treat each other well,” Arcia said through an interpreter. “We pick each other up and help in all of the spots that are needed.”

There is no potential benefit to the Braves figuring out how they are going to get into July without Max Fried and Kyle Wright. It wouldn’t be easy for any team to be without two top starting pitchers like this for an extended period of time. But Atlanta has the quality depth necessary to successfully perform the age-old baseball task of picking each other up.

Fried and Wright have combined to account for less than 20 percent (44 2/3 of 232 1/3) of the innings completed by Atlanta’s starters. Yet the Braves possess the National League’s best record.

“We never panic,” Ozuna said. “We’ve been doing this since I came from another team to the Braves.”

This latest victory was another example of the Braves’ resilient nature. After the Mariners ended Elder’s night and shutout bid with two runs in the top of the seventh, Atlanta tallied two more runs in the bottom of the same inning. Ozzie Albies’ one-out walk chased impressive Seattle rookie Bryce Miller and set the stage for Ozuna and Arcia to tally consecutive RBI singles.

Arcia has hit .338 with a .973 OPS through 88 plate appearances this season. Nobody expected this when he had to fight for a starting job against two unproven prospects during Spring Training. But a fractured wrist that sidelined him for three weeks is the only thing that has slowed him this year.

As for Ozuna, he has hit .319 with six homers and a 1.130 OPS in 54 plate appearances this month. Not bad for a guy, who looked like he might be released by this point of the season in the early going.

Ozuna has been the Braves’ most surprising contributor this month. If looking for the most surprising candidate of the season, you could go with Arcia or Elder, who ranks fifth in the Majors with a 2.06 ERA through nine starts after being Triple-A Gwinnett’s Opening Day starter.

Elder would have still had a sub-2.00 ERA had he not allowed a pair of hits and issued a walk in the seventh inning. But the rookie was also helped by Acuña’s leaping catch at the right-field wall in that same inning and Michael Harris II’s great arm in the sixth.

Harris has struggled at the plate, but he has still continued to contribute with plays like the one he made on Ty France’s fly ball. He sprinted toward the infield to make the catch and then made a pinpoint throw on the run that beat J.P. Crawford at home plate by more than five feet.

“He made it look easy, but it wasn’t,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

This same statement is regularly used regarding Acuña, who now leads MLB in first-inning hits (20) and first-inning doubles (seven). His latest first-inning double was followed by a double by Matt Olson, who also drilled his team-leading 12th homer in the eighth.  

With Acuña, Olson, Murphy and Austin Riley filling the top four lineup spots, the Braves certainly have something special. But it’s bottom-of-the-lineup production provided by the likes of Ozuna and Arcia, that could set Atlanta apart and make it easier to compensate for key absences.

“[Injuries] happen to every team, and the best teams are going to be able to handle it the best way” Olson said. “We’ve got a lot of depth here.”