It may not be the be-all, end-all for production as far as batted balls go, but exit velocity goes a long way towards determining whether or not a ball ends up landing in the grass or the seats instead of the leather of a baseball glove.
Plus, it’s just plain cool to see a ball get hit really hard — especially if it’s for a base hit or even more. Fortunately, the Atlanta Braves had a lot of hard-hit balls in 2026 and now it’s time to take a look at 10 of the hardest that they hit during this past
season. Let’s get into it, shall we?
No. 10 – Austin Riley, May 24 vs. Nationals, Single, 111.9 mph, .714 xBA
This was during that series where the Braves inexplicably couldn’t figure out a way to score more than one run across two games against the beleaguered pitching staff for the Washington Nationals — and at home, no less. There was a lot of hope that this rocket from Austin Riley would’ve been enough to spark the Braves. Instead, it just ended up being a footnote — a footnote that was interesting enough to make it onto this list, though!
No. 9 – Ronald Acuña Jr., May 31 at Reds, Home Run, 112.0 mph, 1.000 xBA
As you would imagine, Ronald Acuña Jr. is going to make plenty of appearances on this list. He still hits the ball extremely hard and as you can see based on the rest of his appearances on this list, he’ll hit it hard whether he gets all of it or not. This time, he got all of it and this batted ball also appeared on the Longest Homers list from earlier this week. As such, y’all get the Reds broadcast’s take on Acuña’s homer. Seems like they really enjoyed Acuña watching it go, huh?
T-No. 7 – Austin Riley, July 4 vs. Mets, Line Out, 112.2 mph, .820 xBA
There were plenty of fireworks (both during and after the game) for the Braves and their fans on July 4 against the New York Mets. Interestingly enough, despite the explosion of offense from Atlanta in this one, there was no harder-hit ball during this game for the Braves than this fly out from Austin Riley. Riley did end up with 3 RBI during this game but he could’ve had four if this one flew just a little bit further off of his bat. That’s the story of many fly balls, though.
T-No. 7 – Jorge Mateo, May 3 vs. Rockies, Home Run, 112.2 mph, .994 xBA
Coors.
No but for real, this was very likely the type of moment that doesn’t happen outside of this atmosphere — especially for a batter like Jorge Mateo. Mateo’s average exit velocity in 2026 was 87.5-mph and this was the second of a grand total of five homers for Mateo during the 2026 regular season. The stars and conditions aligned for Mateo to absolutely turn on this one and keep it fair for a laser beam of a dinger.
No. 6 – Ronald Acuña Jr., April 4 at Diamondbacks, Ground Out, 112.3 mph, .617 xBA
Here’s another appearance for Acuña on this list. Again, it won’t be his last but this time, he suffered some hard luck as this one got smacked directly to a Diamondbacks infielder for a routine out. As you’ll see from his other appearances on this list, Acuña’s hardest-hit balls really ran the gamut from making you go “Wow!” in a good way to making you go “Wow.” in a confused way.
T-No. 4 – Michael Harris II, July 31 vs. Nationals, Home Run, 112.8 mph, .923 xBA
Boy, that one got out of there Quick. We’ve seen some balls get hit to the Chop House in right field that seemingly took a long and majestic voyage either to the seats, the house itself, or even the roof. Money Mike sent this one on a laser beam and it got to its destination about as quick as it possibly could. It’s a miracle that it didn’t just knock someone’s beer right off of their table out there! Sheesh.
T-No. 4 – Drake Baldwin, June 16 vs. Giants, Home Run, 112.8 mph, 1.000 xBA
We covered this one in the Longest Homers article from earlier this week, so there’s not much more to say about it. Instead, let’s just enjoy the Giants TV crew and how they observed this one. Granted, they can’t be jumping up and down and throwing confetti everywhere for a home run against the team that they’re covering but there’s still a lot of awe and admiration on the call here.
No. 3 – Ronald Acuña Jr., May 29 at Reds, Home Run, 113.3 mph, .971 xBA
At this point in the season, Ronald Acuña Jr. was about as locked in as we’d ever seen him. This series in Cincinnati saw Acuña go on a rampage, as this is his second batted ball from that series alone to make this list. It would’ve been really nice to se Acuña tap into this vein of production for longer stretches during the 2026 season but when he did find it, it was a reminder of just what this guy is capable of when he’s firing on all cylinders. Wow.
No. 2 – Michael Harris II, April 20 at Nationals, Ground Out, 114.9 mph, .551 xBA
Baseball is a cruel sport. It’s the only sport where you can do everything right with regularity and still end up getting nowhere as a result. That was the case in this particular moment, as Michael Harris II absolutely put this one on the screws — only for it to be hit directly towards a Nationals infielder for a routine ground ball out. A just-about 115-mph bullet and it’s all for naught. That’s baseball for you!
No. 1 – Ronald Acuña Jr., August 23 vs. Brewers, Ground Out, 115.2 mph, .111 xBA
If you have a morbid sense of humor then you can also recognize that baseball is a hilarious sport. Not only was this the hardest-hit ball of the season for the Braves, it was enough to make the Top-70 of all batted balls throughout the entire 2026 Major League Baseball Regular Season. This. THIS! Money Mike’s bullet from second place was just barely hit hard enough to make the Top 100 for the entire season but this was just bizarre. Acuña hit it directly into the ground and it was all for nothing — well, it made the top of this list, so congratulations to him for this amazing achievement.
BONUS – Lowest Exit Velocity for a (Non-Bunt) Base Hit: Eli White, July 29 at Mets, Single, 29 mph, .359 xBA
Sometimes you get unlucky, sometimes you get very lucky. That was the case for Eli White, as he ended up benefiting from getting a perfectly soft bounce on a full swing that was essentially as good as a bunt. What made this possible is that Eli White’s Sprint Speed for 2026 was 30.3 feet per second, which meant that it was just slow enough for White to be quick enough to make it to first base. The tortoise and the hare worked together in true harmony in order to make this play work for White and the Braves.
