ATLANTA -- With the start of Spring Training two weeks away, here are a few thoughts about the Braves’ offense:
1) What should be expected from Ronald Acuña Jr.?
Well, based on what manager Walt Weiss has said, we should expect Acuña to be back in the leadoff spot. Acuña spent last year getting a feel for what it’s like to play with a pair of surgically repaired ACLs, and he seems ready to resume being a stolen-base threat. We’ll never see him go 40-70 again, but a 40-40 season could be a lofty goal. You want him to be smart, but it’s hard to harness a top thoroughbred.
Acuña stole 11 bases in 16 games in the Venezuelan Winter League, and he’s now getting assistance from a guy (first-base coach Antoan Richardson) who helped Juan Soto swipe a career-high 38 bags last season with the Mets.
And even if Acuña chooses to slow his roll as a basestealer, he’s still more than capable of being a great catalyst. The 1.012 OPS he produced as a leadoff hitter in 2023 is the fourth-highest mark by any player with at least 500 plate appearances in the lineup’s top spot.
2) When will the Braves get catcher Sean Murphy and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim back?
In case you forgot, Murphy underwent surgery in September to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. As for Kim, he tore a ligament in his right middle finger when he slipped on ice this month in Korea.
The Braves are hopeful both players will be activated from the injured list in May.
3) What does Murphy’s absence mean for Drake Baldwin and the plans for DH?
With a healthy Murphy, you can expect the Braves to get Baldwin as many plate appearances as possible. This means that the reigning NL Rookie of the Year will get his fair share of starts at designated hitter when he’s not catching.
But while Murphy misses at least the season’s first month, you will see Baldwin behind the plate possibly as frequently as four out of every five games. There will be stretches when he might need a day off to rest mentally and physically. But you can also expect to see him occasionally serve as a DH until Murphy is activated. Having Baldwin’s bat in the lineup four out of every five games seems to be a good goal.
4) How will Weiss fill the DH spot, especially while both Kim and Murphy are sidelined?
With Kim likely to miss the season’s first six weeks, Mauricio Dubón is expected to begin the season as Atlanta’s shortstop. So, the incredibly versatile Dubón won’t initially be available to play around the diamond and help keep many of the regulars fresh by allowing them to take a day off or serve as the DH.
This isn’t necessarily a big deal. There will be a greater need for Acuña, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and others to get off their feet a couple months into the season, when Kim will have made his expected return.
Back to the question. You can expect to see Mike Yastrzemski in the lineup whenever the opposing team is starting a right-hander. He had an .809 OPS vs. right-handers and a .427 OPS vs. lefties last year. He’s also better defensively than Jurickson Profar, the other left-field option. Profar had an .800 OPS vs. RHPs and a .756 OPS vs. LHPs. So, he would play left field against left-handed starters and be a DH option against right-handed starters.
Yeah, there will be days when it seems like Profar and Baldwin are both good options to DH against a right-handed starter. But as previously mentioned, there will be days when Baldwin needs to rest. Eli White would likely play left field on those days when Baldwin rests and Profar serves as the DH.
5) Who should bat second?
We have seen the Braves use both Austin Riley and Matt Olson in the second spot in recent years. Improving the odds of your best hitters getting more plate appearances makes perfect sense. But as you construct this year’s lineup and recognize that Marcell Ozuna’s power is no longer sitting in the middle of the lineup, there’s reason to wonder if the lack of speed from Riley and Olson might be problematic. You don’t want to rely on a station-to-station attack.
So, it might make sense to put Profar’s high on-base skills in this spot, at least to get a feel for the lineup’s length to begin the season.