This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

As the Braves prepare to bid for a sixth straight National League East title, here are their most intriguing players entering Spring Training:

Vaughn Grissom
Grissom put in the time this winter, and he now has the opportunity to prove he is capable of being the Braves’ starting shortstop. He certainly has made a believer of Atlanta's third-base coach and infield guru, Ron Washington, who spent three weeks working with Grissom in New Orleans this winter. Washington expressed his strong confidence in Grissom's abilities at the position.

Washington must have read my Jan. 19 newsletter in which I wrote, “I don’t know if he’s a miracle worker,” referring to the beloved coach's chances of preparing Grissom to be an everyday shortstop overnight. When I saw him for the first time this week, Wash greeted me by saying, “I’m no miracle worker.”

He then added, “I’m a product worker. I can get [guys] where they need to go.” Wash is a national treasure.

Kirby Yates and Nick Anderson
If Yates and Anderson are healthy and back to where they were just a couple of years ago, the Braves might have the game’s most dominant bullpen. Anderson is trying to get back to the Majors for the first time since 2021, and Yates is looking forward to proving the offseason allowed him to fully complete his recovery from Tommy John surgery. 

Yates, who recorded 41 saves for the Padres in 2019, posted a 5.14 ERA over nine appearances for the Braves last year. The veteran reliever says he is healthy and has been looking forward to pitching in Spring Training games for a long time. His offseason throwing program gave him confidence that his fastball will have the extra giddy-up it lacked last year.

Ronald Acuña Jr.
As Acuña has taken batting practice over the past couple days, the ball has consistently jumped off his bat like it did before he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in July 2021. The outfielder seems to be past the knee discomfort that plagued him after he returned last year and expressed excitement about feeling fully healthy.