Atlanta Braves: Dissecting the Batting Lineup Through First Week
By Josh Oles
It may be very early in the season, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be excited about the Atlanta Braves batting lineup and the team’s ability to score runs.
There are a lot of guys in the Atlanta Braves lineup that can hit a home run on any given night.
A big question so far has been if Ender Inciarte or Ozzie Albies should be leading off.
Albies batting average is much higher than Inciarte’s to this point, but it is hard to look into that too much since we only have a small sample size.
As long as Inciarte is consistently getting on base and scoring runs, then there is no need for a change.
Albies also seems to look very comfortable in the sixth slot, so it may be best to keep him there.
A big surprise has been Josh Donaldson struggling at the plate. He has only hit singles so far and can’t seem to get things going.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Donaldson gets moved down the lineup if his struggles at the plate continue for another few weeks, as his average is only .154 right now.
As he always seems to, Freddie Freeman is finding ways to get on base at a high rate. Freeman always seems to see the ball well and be extremely disciplined at the plate.
Things don’t seem to be much different for the 2019 version of Freddie. Expect him to continue this kind of production throughout the entire season.
It looks like Ronald Acuna Jr. is still adjusting to the cleanup spot. It is only a matter of time before his batting average will even out.
However, Acuna seems to enjoy playing against the Marlins, as he hit another home run in the series debut Friday night. He’s now hit 7 home runs against the Marlins in his young career.
The fact that we have Nick Markakis back as a Brave this year is beyond exciting. Markakis has been making solid contact with the ball all season in the fifth slot.
He put together an impressive 5-for-5 effort in the series finale against the Cubs, while also driving in five runs. I think the Braves got a steal by resigning Nick this offseason.
Both catchers, Brian McCann and Tyler Flowers, have looked pretty comfortable at the plate in the seventh slot.
Between the two of them, they have been able to drive in 5 runs and string together 8 hits.
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Flowers showed that he is capable of hitting it out of the park at any time, and McCann came up just short of a home run against the Cubs.
Watching Dansby Swanson in Spring training games was incredible. He looked healthy and capable of hitting the ball deep to all parts of the field.
Swanson has carried that into the regular season and leads the team with 6 RBI, tied with Markakis for most on the team.
He also has two home runs and is batting .316. Not bad for being at the back of the lineup!
This lineup has proven that it can score runs on a consistent basis. I think this will continue to be an exciting year and a lot of fun to watch all of our star power.
Next. Is Acuna Really Having a Slow Start?. dark
If our pitchers can continue to have good performances, this year’s Braves team will have a great chance to repeat as division champions because the batting lineup is very solid from top to bottom.