Without question, the Atlanta Braves' hero from the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway was Eli White. White cracked two home runs in the game that also accounted for basically all of the Braves' offense and it was enough to take the Reds down. As fun as it was to see White go off at Bristol, it was also a reminder of a consistent problem that has plagued manager Brian Snitker this season: lineup construction.
Over the last few years, Snitker's lineup decisions have been pretty self-explanatory as guys settled into roles well and the offense was raking. However, when things have gotten tough, Snitker has seemed to default to some unfortunate "traditional" tendencies. Unfortunately, that may have cost the Braves some runs in the first half when Alex Verdugo was seeing as much playing time as he was at White's expense.
Eli White just reminded Braves fans that he should have been playing more all along
At this moment in time, this may seem like a moot point because Jurickson Profar is back and Verdugo feels like a distant memory. However, there is something instructive we can take from what White has shown this season and why it may be best for Snitker (or whoever replaces Snitker after this season) to change the Braves' philosophy when it comes to playing time and constructing a lineup.
When you look at the surface level numbers, White and Verdugo actually looked like pretty similar players in the month of May and June when it comes to overall offensive production. However, a closer look shows that White had consistently better quality of contact than Verdugo and was, by orders of magnitude, a better defender in addition to being a strong pinch-runner. Snitker may have thought that playing the platoon game and giving weight to Verdugo's name was the right decision, but it ended up being pretty costly keeping White (and especially his glove) on the sidelines as much as they did.
It is becoming a familiar tale. The Braves go through a slump and Snitker decides to default to traditional lineup roles to shake things up, it doesn't work, and eventually order is restored and the offense performs better. In this case, Atlanta should have figured out sooner that Verdugo wasn't a guy that needed to be playing everyday. While White is far from a perfect player, his performance on Sunday was a reminder that he at least has real upside at the plate and he is a strong defender. It may not be the sexy move, but it is one the Braves should have made a lot sooner and before they were forced to with Ronald Acuña Jr. out.