Peter Moylan can’t remember exactly which of his many odd jobs was filling his days when he was 21. He might have been laying concrete in his native Australia. Or plumbing pools. Or maybe he was selling commercial pest control on the southern coast of New South Wales. The point is, Moylan wasn’t playing Major League Baseball at that point in his life. He wouldn’t for another six years.

But now when the 39-year-old Moylan looks around the Atlanta Braves clubhouse, he sees as many as four teammates who are that age—or even younger.

“I have an 18-year-old daughter,” said Moylan, a Braves relief pitcher. “When I see them messing around in the clubhouse, I imagine what would it be like seeing my daughter’s friends hanging out in there. It’s a bit of a head-screwer.”

The real head-screwer is just how well the kids have done. The Baby Braves have been perhaps the biggest surprise in the sport through the first third of the season, exceeding all expectations by surging to near the top of the National League standings. They are on the front end of a new youth movement in baseball that is more willing to accelerate top talent to the majors.

The Braves have handed the top two spots in their lineup over to two people who weren’t even alive yet when the Olympics came to Atlanta: second baseman Ozzie Albies (born Jan. 7, 1997) and left fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (Dec. 18, 1997). (Acuña is currently on the disabled list with a knee injury, but the Braves say he could return within two weeks.)