Ozzie Albies is maybe the biggest key for this Atlanta Braves team the rest of the way and he’s not being utilized correctly.
The Atlanta Braves offense had gone cold recently before Sunday’s 9-run outburst capping off a series win over the San Francisco Giants.
But before that, they were averaging just over 3 runs a game in their last seven.
It was getting to the point where Brian Snitker, against all his will, might actually have to tweak the lineup a little bit. Especially with the addition of Eddie Rosario.
And for me, the one thing that absolutely needs to happen is he has to move Ozzie Albies out of the leadoff spot.
This has nothing to do with Ozzie’s performance as a player. As I wrote the other day, Ozzie is my biggest X-factor for the Braves down the stretch. This offense typically goes as Ozzie goes.
I just think the only reason Snit has him batting leadoff is because of his size. He looks like the old fashion leadoff hitter that slaps the ball, works the count, gets on base, and can steal a bag.
Other than maybe the stolen bases, that’s really not Ozzie’s game.
He’s not a slap hitter, his career OBP of .328 isn’t great (and it’s only .318 this year, .306 last year), and he’s not somebody who works the count seeing just 3.81 pitches/per plate appearance in 2021, which is actually the highest of his career.
Again, I’m not trying to bash on Ozzie here, just pointing out he isn’t being utilized correctly in the leadoff spot. He is not a guy you want leading off games for you.
Here are his numbers batting leadoff, which he’s done exactly 100 times now in his career: .252/.304/.471 with a .776 OPS, 17.3% k-rate, 6.6% walk-rate, and 101 wRC+.
Certainly not terrible, but he’s probably just a bit above league-average — not the All-Star we know he is.
Second is where he’s hit most in his career and he’s put up decent numbers there: .278/.322/.462 with a .783 OPS and 104 wRC+.
I actually prefer him further down in the lineup where he’s going to get more RBI opportunities.
A much smaller sample size, but he as a 121 wRC+ when batting third or fourth.
I think fifth is actually the ideal spot for him in the lineup. He’s only done that nine times and the results weren’t great, but again, a very small sample size.
I’m going to post a follow-up article on my ideal lineup for the Braves right now, but I wanted the focus on this article to be on Ozzie and why he does not need to bat leadoff.
Let me know if you agree or disagree down in the comments section.