With the offseason still young, Bleacher Report attempted to take a stab at all 30 MLB teams’ Opening Day lineup. While the Atlanta Braves have far less to do, with almost every slot in the lineup being filled thanks to long-term extensions, Bleacher Report still doesn’t nail the Braves projections.<\/p>\n
While we don’t know new manager Walt Weiss’s lineup construction tendencies just yet even though he was previously on the coaching staff, it would not be shocking to see a familiar face return to leadoff.<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report’s projected lineup for Atlanta has Jurickson Profar leading off, as he did for the majority of the second half, but with Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/strong> having more time for his knee to heal, there’s a good chance he’ll be up to steal more bases than he did in 2025.<\/p>\n It would not be shocking if the Braves actually have Acu\u00f1a lead off, as he has for the majority of his career, and have Profar hit third, flipping BR’s projection.<\/p>\n Bleacher Report is likely spot on with their predictions for the two-, four-, and five-spots, with Matt Olson, Austin RIley, and Drake Baldwin<\/strong> being obvious fits for those spots (in that order). However, the six-spot in the lineup might be another toss up.<\/p>\n BR predicts that longtime Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies<\/strong> will hit sixth. If the Braves don’t end up adding a DH before the season, Albies would make sense in the sixth spot, but catcher Sean Murphy<\/strong> would also a natural fit for the spot, especially if his hip is truly 100% by the start of the season. Whoever isn’t hitting sixth between Albies and Murphy will naturally hit seventh.<\/p>\n The prediction for the eighth spot in the order will likely be the biggest difference come Opening Day. While it will likely be filled by the shortstop, Bleacher Report predicts that newly acquired utility player Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/strong> will play short. However, considering the value the 31-year-old brings to the team as a utility player, it’s more likely the Braves find a shortstop. even if that player doesn’t have the same pedigree as a player like Ha-Seong Kim.<\/p>\n Lastly, Michael Harris II<\/strong> is predicted to round out the lineup. The incredibly athletic center fielder had a bizarre season in 2025. While there’s no doubt that Harris’s age-25 season could be the season he finally turns into a star, to start the season, it makes the most sense to start him ninth. Harris had plenty of success out of the ninth spot during his Rookie of the Year season after all.<\/p>\n Overall, Bleacher Report’s prediction for the Braves lineup will likely be one of their most accurate predictions, but it still fails a little short for assuming that the club is done making additions this winter to their everyday lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bleacher Report tried to project what the Atlanta Braves’ lineup would be on Opening Day. Here is how we would fix their guess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":127045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n