No player is under the microscope more with Atlanta Braves fans than Jurickson Profar. The relationship got off to an ultra rocky start with Profar being served an 80 game suspension from Major League Baseball. His status in Braves Country quickly took a hit as fans were subjected to months of poor left field play from Alex Verdugo, Jared Kelenic, and Eli White in addition to the suspension itself.
Upon Profar's return he belted two home runs in his first couple games back. However, the performance since then has been average at best. After taking a look at the underlying numbers Profar is showcasing some early red flags, and fans need to hold out hope he can turn things around or else his three-year $42 million contract will begin to look very bad in a hurry.
Profar's dip in exit velocity is a major red flag for Braves future
During Profar's breakout 2024 season with San Diego he posted a career high in both average exit velocity (91.1 mph) and bat speed (71.7 mph). This season those numbers have dipped to 87.6 mph in average exit velocity and 70.5 mph in bat speed.
Obviously the sample size is still fairly small, but the early return on Profar in a Braves uniform isn't something that lends the type of production they paid for. Outside of making a ton of contact and avoiding strikeouts, Profar isn't doing anything special on the diamond. Even more upsetting is the abysmal defense he's displayed early on. If the Braves are going to get value from Profar they need him to hit.
Still too early to judge but early trends I don’t love, post PEDs pic.twitter.com/xPUKMqqfBR
— Stephen (@b_outliers) July 25, 2025
Profar's .244/.301/.419 slash line and 100 wRC+ entering Friday night were about as league average as you can be from an offensive standpoint. Unfortunately, his poor defense has brought his overall Fangraphs value down to a -0.1 fWAR in just over 20 games played.
No matter what the Braves do at this year's trade deadline, the big story in the second half of the season is finding out which Jurickson Profar the team is getting for the remainder of his contract. Again, the numbers we have thus far on Profar doesn't provide enough data to make a definite conclusion on his abilities, but the early trends aren't what fans were hoping to see.
Hopefully, as the season goes on Profar will showcase some of that offensive prowess that landed him his $42 million contract in the first place. Should he fail to do so, Profar could become one of the most disliked players in Braves country. Even more problematic would be the ensuing roster reconstruction Alex Anthopoulos would have to begin this winter in order to make up for the mistake of signing Profar. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, and Profar simply starts to produce to the level he is being paid for.