The Atlanta Braves‘ lineup is struggling and they have their leading home-run hitter, who is also one of their slowest runners, batting second. Normally this would be a head-scratching move.
But in the case of the Braves and their mostly anemic offense, Matt Olson in the two-hole is the best hope of preventing opponents from constantly pitching around superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.
Olson was in the second spot in the lineup for the ninth game in a row Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. His run in that spot came after Austin Riley did it for over 50 games with uninspiring results and after Alex Verdugo and others have stumbled there as well.
The Atlanta Braves’ Lineup is a Mess
There Are Too Many Struggling Pieces
When asked about making a lineup with so many struggling pieces Braves Manager Brian Snitker said “It’s challenging. You hit it right on the head. We move guys around and hopefully give them different looks. And it’s been challenging from the get-go. It’s been hard. We haven’t been able to get three or four guys going in one stretch. And that’s what it’s going to take for us to put something together. So, just kind of keep fighting the fight, and eventually we’ll get the right mix and get ‘er going.”
That’s where things stand with the Braves’ offense. They keep trying to go on a good run, saying the right things about how they believe it’ll come. So far, it certainly has not.
The Braves, who rank between 15th and 20th in most offensive categories, have been much worse lately, wasting numerous strong pitching performances and the opportunity to make up ground in the National League East and Wild Card standings. They are now in eighth place in the NL Wild Card race with a 38-45 record and the NL’s fifth-lowest winning percentage.
The Pressure to Perform is Increasing
Are the Braves feeling increased pressure at the season’s halfway point, with their streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances in serious jeopardy?
Going into the series with the Phillies Riley said “We got pressure in this game always, so it’s just a matter of going out there and playing our game. We obviously know that (facing a) division rival, it’s very important. I think the main thing is just going out there and playing our game. We’ve been playing some good baseball here recently, so just try to build off of that.”
Good baseball is debatable. Now obviously this quote was before their series loss to the Phillies over the weekend, however, the reality is that they’ve pitched well, but the Braves’ hitting has remained inconsistent. They had three singles in Thursday’s series finale of a four-game split at New York. After New York Mets starter Griffin Canning ultimately tore his Achilles in the third inning, three relievers shut out the Braves over the final six-plus innings of a 4-0 loss. This completed a 3-4 road trip that began with a series loss against the Miami Marlins.
Could Help Be On the Way?
Atlanta is near the bottom of the league in batting average and OPS in June. Verdugo, Michael Harris, and Nick Allen are all near the bottom of the league in OPS for the season. Ozzie Albies and Eli White are not much better.
The Braves will have another two-hole option Wednesday when left fielder Jurickson Profar returns from an 80-game PED suspension, barring any rainouts, which would push back his eligible date. But Profar, coming off a now-tainted career-best season with the San Diego Padres, will need to show he still has pop and can make pitchers pay for pitching around Acuña Jr. or else Olson likely stays in the two-hole.
In his defense, Profar has looked great for Gwinnett and Atlanta desperately needs him to provide a spark and fix one of their many problems. They are currently getting some of the worst offensive production in the league from second base, shortstop, left field, and center field. That’s nearly half of the lineup and realistically Riley and Marcell Ozuna are not living up to expectations as well.
Final Thoughts
Realistically we have seen this Braves lineup struggle for over half a season now and if Acuña Jr., who is playing at an extremely high level by the way, couldn’t give this team a spark when he returned, then it is hard to believe Profar will be the difference-maker. Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has stated that the team is not selling at the deadline.
The team was in a similar situation in 2021 and would turn out to be buyers instead. You know the rest, as it led to them going on a run and eventually defeating the Houston Astros in the World Series.
Whether it’s buying or selling, Atlanta needs to make some aggressive moves at the deadline and the worst possible thing that they can do is ride this out for the rest of the season, which unfortunately seems to be the most likely scenario at this point.
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
