In order to try and create a spark offensively, the Atlanta Braves made some bold decisions with the lineup ahead of Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Atlanta Braves offense has been stagnant for most of the season, in large part because of the underperformances from the guys in the middle of the lineup.
While Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Marcell Ozuna all got off to hot starts, they’ve all pretty much cooled for the previous month.
Brian Snitker and the front office will try to shake things up with Monday’s lineup, which gives us a lot to talk about.
.@tucktuck6 gets the start tonight as we face the Phillies at @TruistPark! pic.twitter.com/h6Z24ijEtM
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 23, 2022
First, Matt Olson will bat somewhere other than second for the first time all year long. He’s hitting just .183 in the month of May with 2 home runs.
The lefty has still been taking his walks with 14 in May after taking 15 in April, keeping his OBP at a solid .361.
But the Braves would certainly like to see more RBI production out of him, and perhaps this move down in the order gets him going.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is William Contreras not just batting in the two-hole, but making his big league debut in the outfield.
They toyed with this some in Spring Training trying to find ways to get his bat in the lineup.
Travis Demeritte is 0-28 after a hot start, so Contreras will get an opportunity out there.
The Braves have also tried this with Orlando Arcia and the results weren’t great defensively.
Austin Riley is batting seventh as he’s batting just .176 in May with a .256 OBP and a terrible .284 SLG. He’s walked just six times and struck out 24 times.
We’ll see if the new-look lineup leads to better returns at the plate and a more balanced lineup 1-9.
It won’t be easy as they go up against Zack Wheeler who has been outstanding in his past four starts — not allowing a run in three of those.
At the very least, it’s good to see the Braves try something different to try and generate some offense.