{"id":17709,"date":"2019-03-07T16:25:18","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T21:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=17709"},"modified":"2019-03-07T16:27:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T21:27:13","slug":"atlanta-braves-lineup-leadoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/03\/07\/atlanta-braves-lineup-leadoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Braves Lineup Discussion &#8211; Who Should Bat Leadoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last season, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/atlanta-braves\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atlanta Braves<\/a> captured their first NL East title since 2013. A big part of the ascent was the boost that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/acunaro01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ronald Acu\u00f1a<\/a> Jr<\/strong>. brought after being moved to the leadoff spot. Despite that success, who bats leadoff for the Braves this season is not a foregone conclusion. Acu\u00f1a could be seen to be more valuable in the middle of the lineup this season.<\/p>\n<p>There are several other options on the roster that could bat leadoff. None of the options are perfect and they might be better utilized at another spot in the order too.<\/p>\n<h1>Atlanta Braves Lineup &#8211; Leadoff Options<\/h1>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/i\/inciaen01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ender Inciarte<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Entering 2018, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/i\/inciaen01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ender Inciarte<\/a><\/strong> was a clear cut, prototypical MLB leadoff hitter. In 2017, he earned his first trip to the All-Star game with a .350 OBP. He consistently steals around 20 bases per season and plays Gold Glove-caliber defense in centerfield.<\/p>\n<p>Things did not go as well in 2018. Inciarte saw nearly a 40-point drop in his batting average from the previous season. He batted from the leadoff spot in 54 games, but only managed a .223 average from the top of the order. He contributed most when batting second last season. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/donaljo02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Josh Donaldson<\/strong><\/a> was signed this off-season and seems like a natural fit to bat second leaving question marks as to where Inciarte can best be used.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Braves?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Braves<\/a>&#39; Josh Donaldson reiterated that he prefers hitting 2nd over 4th or 5th, says it allows him to be a better, more complete hitter instead of going up and trying to hit homers. And Snitker said again that he&#39;s planning to bat him second.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; David O&#39;Brien (@DOBrienATL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOBrienATL\/status\/1097220159431950336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Braves experimented with using Inciarte as a &#8220;second leadoff&#8221; hitter, batting him in the No. 9 spot and after the pitcher on multiple occasions. The sample size is small, but he only managed to hit .214 with a modest .333 OBP in those games.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/albieoz01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ozzie Albies<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Switch-hitting <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/albieoz01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ozzie Albies<\/a><\/strong> burst on the scene last year, hitting .281 and belting 20 home runs by the All-Star break. He slowed down significantly in the second half though, only hitting .226 with four more home runs. The decline in power was not a big surprise, as Albies had never reached double-digit homers while in the minors. The sharp decline in average and OBP are more concerning.<\/p>\n<p>Albies is a free swinger and lacks the plate discipline that teams are often looking for from the leadoff spot. Last season he only drew 36 walks and rarely worked deep counts. Albies performed best when batting second last season, but as mentioned earlier that spot is not available.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/acunaro01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Acu\u00f1a, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, was a spark plug for the Braves from the leadoff spot last season. He hit eight leadoff home runs, including five in a two-week stretch in mid-August.<\/p>\n<p>In 111 games, Acu\u00f1a batted nearly .300 with 26 home runs and 64 RBI. He added 16 stolen bases and drew 45 walks for good measure. If he can project that stat line out over a full season, Acu\u00f1a will consistently be in the MVP conversation.<\/p>\n<p>This off-season much of the conversation centered around whether or not Acu\u00f1a should be moved to the cleanup spot. Acuna is on record as saying\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/ronald-acuna-jr-wants-to-bat-leadoff-in-2019-c304047352\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he prefers to bat leadoff,<\/a>\u00a0telling MLB.com,\u00a0&#8220;If it was up to me personally, I&#8217;d like to stay in the leadoff spot, simply because I like hitting there.&#8221; It is also worth noting that Acu\u00f1a never batted cleanup last season.<\/p>\n<p>Donaldson and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/freemfr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Freddie Freeman<\/strong><\/a> are penciled in at the two and three spots, and\u00a0<a href=\"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/2019\/02\/12\/nick-markakis-right-fit-atlanta\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Nick Markakis<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will likely end up batting cleanup as he did most of last season. Acu\u00f1a would probably be a better option in a run-producing spot, but his success and comfort at leadoff means he will likely continue in that role. The batting lineup may be a bit unconventional, but it is a combination that led to a division crown last season.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"tKdytmx-RLNrnHGsKizg8g\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1028812152\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'tKdytmx-RLNrnHGsKizg8g',sig:'J88YrGFGZF5awkj4cl5cLyAnpXieMJzzNlmpwZ2nFP0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1028812152',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2019 Atlanta Braves lineup is loaded with talent. However, one big question remains: who should bat leadoff to start the season?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2939,"featured_media":17754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1071],"tags":[48,591,206,252,298,143,850],"class_list":["post-17709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-ender-inciarte","tag-freddie-freeman","tag-josh-donaldson","tag-nick-markakis","tag-ozzie-albies","tag-ronald-acuna"],"modified_by":"Paul Harvey","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}