{"id":63413,"date":"2025-06-23T00:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T00:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=63413"},"modified":"2025-06-23T00:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T00:54:10","slug":"update-brian-snitker-may-have-perfected-the-braves-lineup-with-this-simple-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=63413","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Brian Snitker may have perfected the Braves&#8217; lineup with this simple change"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. + Matt Olson will have starting pitchers shivering.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 1x,  \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 2x,\n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F17%2F01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_25,w_2313,h_1301\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/17\/01jya0s0kx42bq4cvcwn.jpg\" alt=\"Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves\" width=\"2313\" height=\"1301\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves | Brett Davis\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<figure class=\"player-wrapper relative aspect-video mb-[18px] bg-grey rounded-md hidden player-wrapper-lg md:block\">\n<div id=\"mm-player-placeholder-large-screen\" class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full\">\n<div class=\"voltax-mp-placeholder voltax-mp-placeholder-anchored floating\" data-is-split-view=\"false\">\n<div class=\"voltax-mp-container-anchored\">\n<div class=\"titleBar title-anchor\"><span class=\"title\"><span class=\"\">Todd Frazier Opens Up on Rocky White Sox Tenure, Tatis jr. Trade &amp; the Yankees&#8217; Next Generation<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">When Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. returned to the Atlanta Braves, he solved a hole in the leadoff spot the club had struggled to get any production from for the first two months of the season. Since rejoining the lineup,\u00a0Acu\u00f1a has been one of the best hitters\u00a0on the planet. However, Brian Snitker has still struggled to put together a lineup behind the 2023 NL MVP to score more runs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">On Saturday, after a week of experimenting with the Braves weak-hitting left field tandem, the Braves manager finally decided to put the Braves second-hottest hitter in the two-spot.<\/p>\n<p>With Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. and\u00a0Matt Olson\u00a0hitting back-to-back, the Braves might finally get their offense off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Bases clear courtesy of Matty O!<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf1f\u00a0https:\/\/t.co\/tF2BPq04Q9\u00a0\ud83c\udf1f\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/eQFQQDFdQW<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves)\u00a0June 20, 2025<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Why Brian Snitker needs to keep this lineup going forward<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">This season, the Braves have had six hitters take plate appearances in the two-spot. Ozzie Albies, Eli White, and Alex Verdugo have been well-below average hitters for the season, while Austin Riley, Drake Baldwin, and Marcell Ozuna have been above-average.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">However, in June, Riley, Baldwin, and Ozuna have had prolonged slumps, and\u00a0while Verdugo did decently\u00a0in his five games in the two-hole, all of his hits were singles and a lot of his at-bats were frustrating. While Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. has been reaching base at an insane .491 clip, by the time the Braves&#8217; second-best hitter came up, there were already two outs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">With Matt Olson hitting second, Brian Snitker is now ensuring that his two best hitters are getting the most plate appearances. Acu\u00f1a and Olson are the Braves best options to slug the ball and are two of the three best on-base options, with Olson&#8217;s .359 OBP coming 20 points behind Marcell Ozuna&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Having Olson hit second also forces pitchers to throw more strikes to Acu\u00f1a. When Snitker was pencilling in Alex Verdugo, pitchers had no reason to pitch Acu\u00f1a because Atlanta was throwing out one of their worst hitters in the second spot in the order.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Additionally, Olson has seen the most pitches on the Braves this year and has\u00a0the third-most pitches per plate appearance.\u00a0If Acu\u00f1a was a qualified batter, he would rank in the top 15 in MLB. With these two at the top of the lineup, the opponent&#8217;s starting pitcher might already be gassed before he&#8217;s even recorded an out.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Even when Jurickson Profar returns from his suspension, the Braves will be better off with the duo of Acu\u00f1a and Olson at the top of the lineup, as the combo of their on-base and slugging could give the Braves a deadly first-inning punch they&#8217;ve lacked for most of the season.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_1_7\" class=\"mm-slot-content\">\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_1_7_slot0\" data-gpid=\"23162276296\/fansided\/mlb\/housethathankbuilt.com\/inarticle_d#4\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_23162276296\/fansided\/mlb\/housethathankbuilt.com\/inarticle_d_3__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. + Matt Olson will have starting pitchers shivering. Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves | Brett Davis\/GettyImages Todd Frazier Opens Up on Rocky White Sox&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":63414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UPDATE: Brian Snitker may have perfected the Braves&#039; lineup with this simple change - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=63413\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPDATE: Brian Snitker may have perfected the Braves&#039; lineup with this simple change - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. + Matt Olson will have starting pitchers shivering. 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