The Atlanta Braves’ first full week is in the books. A 4-5 beginning is not the record the reigning National League (NL) Division champions envisioned, but it’s a great turnaround from the 0-4 start to the season.

It’s time to tally the good, bad and ugly in observing the Atlanta Braves’ sub-500 start to the season.

The Good: After a sluggish start, the team’s hitting has finally caught fire, led by leadoff phenom Ronald Acuna Jr.

This might be the year he contends for his first Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

He’s already belted four homers, including one on Sunday that tied the game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

What may be most encouraging is he has cut down on his strikeouts.

Yes, I understand, it’s a small sample size. It is only nine games, which is a small fraction of a 162-game slate.

But Acuna Jr. has only fanned six times. In 156 games during the 2019 season, he struck out 188 times.

 That’ll be the key to Acuna Jr. keeping up his torrid start. He has the tools to hit 40, if not, 50 home runs.

He is fully capable of hitting close to .400, as evidenced by his league-leading 16 hits. Acuna Jr. is the early favorite for the NL MVP.

Bad: The bad was not necessarily something that happened during a game. Ace Mike Soroka, who has  the most potential of any of the Braves’ young hurlers, is still trying to recover from a torn Achilles tendon injury he suffered in 2020.

But in his rehab, he started experiencing discomfort in his shoulder last week. The result is Soroka has been shut down for two weeks.

A return may be delayed until May, and that return date may be unrealistic.

A healthy Soroka is vital to the team sustaining its dominance atop the NL East Division and eventually overtaking the Los Angeles Dodgers as the league’s best. A healthy Soroka in August and September is a lot better than trying to rush him back two months early and risk another setback.

Ugly: The ugly refers to the bogus safe call made during Sunday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies salvaged a win in the three-game series when baserunner Alec Bohm slid past catcher Travis d’Arnaud in the ninth inning for the go-ahead score.

However, upon further review, the ruling was upheld despite video replay showing he never touched home plate.

Instead of a Phillies’ victory, the game at the very least should have been sent to extra innings.

It’s the first of what is sure to be a plethora of controversial calls this season.