Should Ozzie Albies Move Down in the Atlanta Braves Batting Order?
Daniel Martinez: “Personally I think it should be Dansby based on the fact that it will get RH heavy at the bottom. Last year Dansby hit pretty well in both the 2 and 3 holes if I recall correctly. Also, you want to have Dansby bat in the late innings because throughout his career he’s been a good late-inning bat. Batting him second gives you the opportunity to bat him twice beyond the seventh.”
Jesse West: “I’ve always thought Ozzie should be in the two-hole. Dansby has the potential to be a good two-hitter with the way he can take the ball to the opposite field, but Ozzie just always seemed to be the most logical choice to be in the two-spot.”
Jesse, I have to say I understand why you think it seems like Albies is the logical choice because he’s a speedy, scrappy, middle infielder. This subscribes to the old style of thinking about a number two-hitter. However, as we discussed earlier, I don’t think the numbers add up for Ozzie due to his struggles against righties.
Steven Teal: “I think he is a good fit for the two-hole statistically as his slash line in that spot is (.283/.328/.470). However, his numbers batting sixth are very similar and he’d be a good fit there as well. Dansby has okay numbers batting second and seems to fair much better batting leadoff or sixth so I think statistically you have to give the second spot to Ozzie.”
Thanks for the input Steven! I see your OBP is better than the one I listed earlier. You would hope that Albies is getting better as time goes on, but Steven’s numbers show us that Albies had better numbers in his first two years than his last two.
Between 2017-2018 Albies posted a .333 OBP with a .459 SLG. Those are much better numbers, his .792 OPS was good for 61st-best out of the two-hole, over that time period.
Final Thoughts
We love Ozzie’s defense, enthusiasm, and ability to eat left-handed pitching alive. If he can trend back toward his 2017-2018 numbers and find a little more success against right-handed pitching, then this wouldn’t be a debate. It’s hard to stick your head in the sand on a .310 OBP over the past two years from the number-two spot in the lineup.
The question is, who should take his spot? Would you move Freeman up? How would you structure the rest of the lineup?
I want to know what you think. Please write out your potential lineups in the comments. If you think this is a bad idea, please feel free to call me all the terrible names your heart desires, then let us know why you disagree.
Who should hit second for the Atlanta Braves?
Hey, we all love Ozzie and want the best for him. Would you keep him in the two-hole against righties if you were the manager?