A horrid April continued for the Atlanta Braves after a series opening 6-3 loss to the Rays last night. The main concern was yet another lackluster performance from the Braves' offense. It's true the team had a very long night locking down their first series win against the Phillies and arrived in the early morning hours on Friday, but the offensive production left a lot to be desired nonetheless.
To his credit, manager Brian Snitker has tried several lineup shakeups and matchup-based shuffling to try and spark the Braves' offense. However, nothing yet has been helped enough to spark a continuous run of success. Thankfully, Snitker may have another option that could prove to be the difference.
Atlanta has a clear leadoff problem and Austin Riley could be the answer
The absence of Ronald Acuna Jr. is felt in more ways than one. Arguably, the most noticeable difference could be the on-base prowess Ronald brings to the top of Atlanta's lineup. In Acuna's absence the Braves believed offseason signing Jurickson Profar could be the perfect solution. Sadly the club never got the opportunity to find that out as Profar quickly earned a PED suspension just a few games into the season.
Since then the club has been platooning Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies in the leadoff spot based on the handedness of the opposing starting pitcher. While both players are two of the faster (on a pretty slow team) men on the big league roster, both of their plate discipline is lacking for the leadoff role.
Enter power-hitting leadoff option, Austin Riley. Before you roll your eyes reading this, I knowingly admit Austin Riley has started slow in 2025. However, he seems to be picking up some momentum and his career numbers leading off an inning suggest the Braves could have something here.
Last night Austin Riley led off the 11th inning with this game tying RBI double, in his career when leading off an inning Riley is hitting:
— Ben Weaver (@weaver_cards) April 11, 2025
.294/.354/.536
616 PA’s
31 HR’s
37 2B’s
3 3B’s
When he has this swing he’s seeing it extremely well🔥 pic.twitter.com/Su785j0N74
Riley's .294/.354/.536 career slash line leading off an inning, and 69th percentile in chase% this season would pair great in the leadoff spot. Riley hasn't drawn a ton of walks yet this season, but his career numbers show his plate discipline would be a big improvement over known aggressive hitters Harris and Albies.
Riley owns a career 7.8 BB% which isn't overly impressive, but it is much better than both Albies and Harris. On top of that Riley's sprint speed ranks second best on the team just behind MH2. Additionally, we've seen the impact a known power hitter can provide at the top when Acuna Jr. forces pitchers to be cautious from the first pitch of the game.
Finally, batting Riley leadoff could be a two birds with one stone situation. Riley has noticeably struggled with RISP this season - as has many other Braves - and obviously moving him to leadoff would eliminate those scenarios for at least the first inning of ballgames. The method might be a little too outside the box for Snitker to implement, but if the offense continues to struggle before Ronald Acuna Jr. gets back he may have no other choice.