Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker has no intention of moving Ronald Acuna Jr. to the cleanup spot, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Even before the Marcell Ozuna signing, Snitker wasn’t entertaining removing Acuna from leadoff, where he excelled last season after a short stint in the middle of the order. Acuna has 15 leadoff home runs across his two seasons with the Braves and an overall batting line of .297/.380/.565 out of the leadoff spot. Acuna hardly struggled elsewhere in the lineup, but he’s certainly a luxury at the top of the order for the two-time defending NL East champs. With Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna presumably behind him in the order, there’s no particular need to mess with success. Let’s check in elsewhere in the National League…
- Milwaukee Brewers infielder Luis Urias is returning stateside to have his left wrist examined, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). Urias cut his winter ball season short upon experiencing soreness. The Brewers hope to have answers by the middle of next week, and surgery is a possibility. Though mention of surgery sets off alarm bells, the Brewers expect this to be a minor issue. Urias, of course, is looking to establish himself as a full-time big-leaguer in his first season with the Brewers. He put up 1.0 bWAR, but just 0.1 fWAR across 71 games of action as a rookie with the Padres in 2019.
- Now that franchise cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman is back on an exceedingly affordable $2MM deal, the Nationals have financial flexibility under the tax, writes MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. Roster resource puts the Nats’ tax payroll at about $204MM, which doesn’t provide a ton of wiggle room under the $208MM tax line. Zuckerman figures it closer to $194MM, which is the number given by Cot’s Contracts, roughly $14MM under the tax line. Either way, the Nats have been a willing tax payer in the past, and after ducking under the line in 2019, they’re safe to exceed it again without extra penalty. Given the level of free agent available, however, the Nats are probable to enter the season – like their divisional mates in New York and Philadelphia – near the line with the ability to exceed it with midseason additions should they be close enough to push for the playoffs.
Finally, a manager who understands “best hitter should have the most chances to hit” and doesn’t care about “leadoff guy should only be fast and often be terrible at getting on base” like so many other relic managers think.
What manager believe OBP is useless for a lead-off hitter?
Dusty Baker.
Walks clog the bases per Dusty Baker
Well walks would clog the bases
I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of snitker when he first started but he has definitely started to become more then the players manager he is given credit for. He still mismanaged his bullpen horribly last year tho there is no denying that’s sniks weak spot
hopefully with all the bullpen arms he can’t mess that up even if he tried lol….let’s be honest tho he wasn’t exactly given the tools for success out the gate, I don’t think any manager would’ve looked competent with every single arm failing. I kinda give him credit for the testicular fortitude to stick with Jackson as your closer for as long as he did, it was ugly but got the job done for that 6 week span until helped arrived lol
Testicular fortitude?
You gotta trademark that.
First time you’ve ever heard that phrase?
It is.
been used plenty of times before in pro wrestling.
I do not watch wrestling. I have good taste.
Nobody said you had to taste them
ahahaha nice!
Saying that a major league manager mismanaged his bullpen is like saying a president mismanaged foreign policy. THEY ALL DO! What American since maybe Jefferson has had a clue about foreign policy (answer: none) and what baseball mind has EVER figured out bullpen management (answer: none). It’s just part of the game to not know what’s going to happen next and not know how your guys are going to perform. It’s just a whole lot less important than what goes on around the world. Heck we got the biggest and best weapons and we can’t win a war. It’s just a headache (sarcasm).
Jefferson’s Embargo Act would like a word with you.
And he never succeeded at managing a bullpen, either.
Kennedy played a major role in defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis in ’62. He did make mistakes, such as the Bay of Pigs and his escalation in Vietnam, but I’d say “keeping the world from blowing up” qualifies as good management of foreign policy.
Also, the Royals managed their bullpen pretty well not too long ago…won a couple of pennants and a World Series. Pinella did okay with the Reds in ’90.
Managing players is were it’s at, you have a stacked team with no results, probably with a team manager that can’t manage all those Egos and personalities. Exa Yanks
@bravesiowa. They will probably have one of the better bullpens in all of MLB this year as long as guys stay healthy. So if that’s Snitker worst managing they should easily win the division. Especially since they went out and got Ozuna to protect Freeman in the lineup and I’ll just assume to be the 4 hole clean up hitter.
B.S.
They moved him last year to 4th, where we needed him, but he whined alot about it until they just gave up and let him go back. Noone in management wants their best power hitter leading off so that someone like Markakis is stuck driving in runs like last year, noone there thinks its smart, its just about making their 22 yr old superstar happy.
Hes not making a stand for who a leadoff guy should be, or whatever you’re saying. Hes just done fighting Acuna over it, and as good as Acuna has been, theyll just let him bat 1st and go for a 40/40 season to pad his stats again, even if its not optimal because guys like Acuna get to have their way most of the time.
Acuna is statistically better hitting 1st, which is a fact. Why would you fight him on this, if he even said anything at all? I’d fire my manager in a minute for that, if I were a GM. The onus is on the GM to find a 4th place hitter, and not the manager to rearrange parts. They feel they have now. I still would have rather kept Donaldson, and I think they botched it there. At least they have a somewhat credible 4th place hitter now however
lol how do you know he whined?!….he’s a table setter who has a high on base percentage, the biggest threat by far to steal bases and keep pitchers off balance..he just happens to have tons of power too is the way I look at it…I’m not sure he’s still hitting leadoff but it worked pretty well for George Springer and the Astros in pretty much same exact scenario
For what it’s worth (nothing much, I know) I agree with you. I look at Acuna as a Ricky Henderson-esque type of lead off hitter.
But does Acuna have Springer’s trash can?
@prospect. I would disagree on the Rickey Henderson comparison. I doubt he ever steals 80 bases in a year late alone over 100 like Rickey did. A young Jose Canseco would be the better comparison. Plus Acuna has way more power.
I’m calling B.S. on your statement. He didn’t whine and I remember reading multiple interviews where he was fine wherever he hits, but stated he liked leading-off the most.
Sure, you continue to believe a 40/40 guy doesn’t make you a stronger ball club and isn’t optimal for everyone else behind you. If he really wanted 40/40 last year, he could have gotten it, but he rested late last year, including some of the last 3 series where they were playing some of the teams with the worst caught-stealing pct (inc. NYM). They wanted him as close to 100% for the playoffs, which was great considering how well he did.
The Braves don’t need him in 4th. Lord. Stats support the leadoff position. That’s where he’s the best player.
More like BaseBallMoron
If you are gonna make a statement like this please provide examples where a grievance was placed stating this.
The guy clearly has stated where he prefers, but also acknowledged he would hit wherever he needs to be in the lineup to help the team progress.
Just enjoy the game as intended and stop being a backseat manager, because if your way was the case; it’s a guarantee we will never get another shot. As we stand now, we keep getting one step closer to the big one.
This is a false narrative.. he didn’t whine at all. He said that he would gladly hit anywhere in the lineup that the team needed him, but if he had a choice it would be leadoff (he stated it again for this season as well just the other day)… just like Donaldson saying he preferred to hit second but would hit cleanup if we needed him there. Snitker merely noticed the difference in the entire lineup and Ronald’s production boost when he hit leadoff vs anywhere else.
And he didn’t even struggle at cleanup! He just wasn’t there long enough to go on his first monster hot streak of the season. He had good numbers when he was moved.
You should give your best overall hitter as many chances to hit with men on base. Acuna should bat either second or clean up with Albies hitting leadoff. But considering that Albies, Freeman, Ozuna, and Austin Riley will be batting behind Acuna, they can get away with it.
Acuna hits better leading off and he likes that spot so why change that if it’s not broken?
Yeah, especially if that’s where he’s most comfortable… but, I’m looking forward to seeing him hit this year with yet another big bat (Ozuna) behind him, as opposed to no Donaldson and no Ozuna. Braves are good an they will be for the foreseeable future.
Do YOU know anything about the Braves or have you watched the Braves any???? Acuna has batted different places in the lineup. Batting 1st. is his most productive. Way change what has worked.
Actually Acuna’s production is not significantly better hitting 1st compared to 4th…the issue was NOBODY ELSE could hit lead off last year. Donaldson was actually the one that wanted to hit 2nd early on so they put Acuna 4. Then when Inciarte, Swanson, and Albies all failed hitting leadoff they moved Acuna their knowing he could produce there. Then Acuna, Swanson, Freeman, and Donaldson settled in and the Braves went on tear.
Actually Acuna’s production is not significantly better hitting 1st compared to 4th…the issue was NOBODY ELSE could hit lead off last year. Donaldson was actually the one that wanted to hit 2nd early on so they put Acuna 4. Then when Inciarte, Swanson, and Albies all failed hitting leadoff they moved Acuna their knowing he could produce there. Then Acuna, Swanson, Freeman, and Donaldson settled in and the Braves went on tear.
Strike 4 – Of course Snitker believes Acuna is better suited for an RBI slot in the lineup – Snit had Acuna batting cleanup to begin last season! What Snit found out was that Acuna sees himself as a lead off hitter and prefers that spot – and Acuna’s productivity proved that to be a better slot for him. And, lead off hitters historically have the absolute fewest RBI chances, so they have the least chance to drive in runs.
that’s just silly. they say you put your best hitter 2 or 3 for a reason. you put the guy who is must likely to get on base in front of them so that best hitter actually has someone to drive in.
I personally want my best hitter hitting first or second to maximize plate appearances with my third best hitter (and second best power hitter- assuming the very best is hitting second) in cleanup and my next best hitter with a good OBP hitting third.
Given Acuñas exception, my Atlanta lineup would probably look something like this in the first four slots:
Acuña, Freeman, Albies, Ozuna
Everyone has their own preferences I suppose though. That said, Freeman says all the time he prefers third.. so if that keeps him happy and the most productive, I’d switch him and Ozzie if needed… Which would be the same top four Snitker runs out anyway.
You want guys who can get on base in front of your best RBI hitters.
The best hitter should bat 2nd in the NL.
I agree. It seems really simple to me that whoever gets on based the most should get the most at bats. I would do this all the way down-the-line up
Dusty Baker has forgotten more about baseball by his first shot of the morning than most people posting online have learned over the course of their mundane existence.
I’ll take a hundred mistakes by Dusty before I’ll take one hypothesis by one of you geniuses.
Strike Four. You can’t steal first.
World Champs are back baby. Good to see Mr. Nat AKA the Face of the Franchise back for a title defense.
Urias, surgery on the way.
Those 200 strikeouts sure look great from the #1 spot
Strikeouts don’t matter to hitters anymore. Look at it this way, if no one struck out, then you’d whine and complain that there’s no power pitchers with high K-rates anymore – there’s just no winning with types like you. You need a wakeup call.
Can’t wait for the first 300 K .900+ OPS guy to hit the bigs and prove that striking out is a much better way to make an out than a 1 pitch ground into double play. Eating pitch counts from a SP who’s dominating is the ONLY out hitters should be trying to make.
Bumgarner is gonna look so good in the Braves rotation. I’m glad they got him.
it ain’t 1887 pawpaw…
The 40 hrs, all star selection, 5 war, 38 sb, 2nd team all Mlb selection certainly does. Have a great day.
Cards fan here – I’m pretty excited for the Braves. They have a scary team. Seems like good people too. Good Job ATL
Well, they cheated and MLB made them flip their entire FO over. Are you saying that its good they cheated?
So the Braves were able to successfully install good people into the positions as dictated by MLB. Are you saying that’s a bad thing?
they got rid of the guy who was in charge of the whole situation.
Yeah, the prior regime cheated. And every single one of them are gone from the org, and every single player they bundled to get was released. Literally nothing remains from any of that scandal.
Braves did something a lot of teams were doing and got made an example out of it. Literally nothing gained or affiliated remains. Don’t know why it’s constantly mentioned with ATL despite this fact and despite the fact that ATL wasn’t the only team punished for doing the exact thing.
You answered my question to another poster, with a question. lol clown comment bro
That’s how you answer a clown.
But they did get rid of the violators. So do you feel better that I am posting this answer right to you? Your stupid question was answered to be shown invalid but hey, I’ve read several of your comments so it’s no surprise. You decided you want to be part of the vast majority of posters that think being a little jerk online is really intelligent and clever. Good job at entirely NOT seperating yourself from the herd.
Not sure how this article was very informative? With the signing of Ozuna the top of the batting order pretty much stays the same, right?
If you paid any attention, you’d read thousands of comments from “40 homers? Why is he leading off?” type- fans aka RUMORS.
Also there’s info about Urias and Zimmrman. Not sure what the point of your comment was? You know you arent bound by law to comment in every Braves post, if you have nothing to say, just keep scrolling….
I can’t reply to replies made to my comments anymore on this site, is this happening for anyone else?
Everyone don’t reply to me I guess? I won’t be able to respond.
Sitewide issue.
Strikeouts do matter, and will always matter, particularly out of the leadoff spot. Acuna is not Trout and will never be. He shouldn’t be leading off long term unless he learns to stop trying to hit home runs every at-bat.
With the Ozuna signing and a very poor offseason, the Braves are wasting the prime years of Freeman (their best player). I’m still banking on Acuna getting traded for his continuous antics.
Lmao “very poor offseason” the Braves have added more players and more money this free agency then ever in franchise history. We may have one of the most elite bullpens now on top of having one of the deepest rosters in baseball.
Woh, they had a very decent offseason and acuna > freeman. Acuna rises up in the playoffs.
Still hate 1 year deals and always will though. Players come to ATL and dominate for their 1 year only to leave us picking up the pieces after another demoralizing playoff series loss. Insert dating that hot chick that cheats and leaves you joke here.
You’re going to sit here and say RAJ isn’t Trout, so he shouldn’t hit 1st? Well who is Mike Trout? Like ever?
Yes, strikeouts do matter, to a point, if you don’t do other things well. RAJ does a lot well. There’s zero reason to not hit him where he’s comfortable other than old, antiquated thinking, that your #1 hitter has to be a punchless speed guy. It’s like thinking an over the hill 3rd starter is still a difference maker because of what’s been done in the past.
RAJ will not be traded anytime in the next 5 years, I assure you.
And the rest of us are banking on you finding a different team to cheer for…or hate on!
You’ve flipped your rocker NOBum. First the unhealthy obsession with MadBum and now this dribble.
Why don’t you become a D-backs fan. They need your help more than the Braves do. Braves had an outstanding offseason and Acuna isn’t getting traded. Maybe D-Backs can get Donaldson someday if that makes you happy
Same “reply” problem here.
“You are not alone.” – The Aliens
mobile or computer?
New update sucks, half the posts are green. Can’t reply to replies, can’t see thumbs up on your own posts or people that replied to you. Been going on for a week or two. Big thumbs down.
ios or Android? ive been fine with the later.
Awwwww,feel left out?
Strikeouts never matter and we are seeing it more and more. Acuna is an elite 21 year old who puts up MVP level numbers, that is exactly the same as Trout. Acuna almost went 40-40 last year. You literally do not know what good baseball looks like if you think Acuna is bad or has “antics” that take away from his performance – its also very obvious racism on your end. He is basically a child still and is acting like one. He’s allowed to. Freeman is a great 1B and elite, but Acuna DESTROYS Freeman. Period. No arguing. This is fact.
Every player should be trying to hit a home run in every at bat, home runs put runs on the board and win games, period.
If everyone was Willians Astudillo you would complain how terrible all pitchers are. Its a classic snake eating tail argument and its stupid and it ignores the best part of the game – batter vs pitcher. Please cease and desist giving a crap about hitters striking out. If the hitter changes his approach, then he wont even hit a homer, he’ll hit a meek flyout – thats what you are arguing for here, more grounders and flyouts. Why? Hitters are going to make an out 3 or 4 times out of 10 no matter who they are, so why do think small ball matters when its been proven to be the lowest percentage style of baseball that only works in a fluke situation. Stop it.
Alright, we now have a moron that has to bring race into it
You both bring excellent points to the table and those points depend on perspective. For instance, strikeouts are most certainly better than Soft grounders because grounders do lead to disappointing double-plays.
However, great baseball minds will tell you the teams that win put the ball in play. A good comparison is the Yankees last year – they struck out in the postseason, a lot, and it hurt them. Other teams put the ball in play (Nats/Astros) and it greatly helped them.
I did miss how his comment was racist though (?). My opinion is RAJ is a great player and will be for a long time, but if someone says he exhibits antics, that doesn’t have anything to do with race or ethnicity, unless I missed something.
Red Sox fans need to start thinking realistically here. The owner has basically mandated the team get under the luxury tax threshold and there isn’t a team that’s willing to take on Sale, Price or Eovaldi’s contract without Boston paying down a huge chunk of it. While doing that might help get the team under the tax threshold in 2020, it would also put the team into a big hole going forward as a big chunk of their payroll space would be going to other teams to pay for those traded players. And any cash the team sends out will count toward the competitive balance tax.
There really isn’t much of a market for Betts at his salary this late in the offseason. How many teams in the league do you think can even afford to take on Mookie’s full $27M salary? The Dodgers are probably the only team that could pull it off and they know it which gives them incredible leverage in any trade talks for Mookie.
As I stated and have shown a few different times in this thread taking on Myers contract (with his low AAV) would not really a hindrance at all the next couple seasons if the Padres sent back a decent amount of cash in 2021 and 2022 (I can’t see the Red Sox agreeing to take Myers without that cash back).
The Red Sox got themselves in a bad position financially and now they need to find a way out. Like it or not trading Betts is one the smartest things the Red Sox could do. Yes it will hurt their chances in 2020, but if done right it can help their chances of rebounding quickly in 2021 immensely. The tax level will have been reset and ownership will be much more willing to spend money to upgrade the roster.
Ultimately if Mookie plays with the Red Sox or is traded to another team he is going to test free agency after the season and wants a huge contract. If the Red Sox are willing to write the biggest check for him next off-season I don’t see many reasons he wouldn’t agree to come back to Boston
What takes precedence here? The 40 SB potential/great speed plus .380 OBP, or the 40 HR? Pretend he had 15 HR but the same SB and OBP and he’d be pegged as a prototypical leadoff guy. Only Freeman will have a higher OBP, and if Freeman bats in front of him, he’d be stealing fewer bases. You can’t win.
If you want a box score counting stat to rely on, Runs is actually a better indicator of personal achievement, as you have to get on base to score runs, and higher R totals might even partially indicate better base running acumen and speed.
But you shouldn’t rely on box score stats for anything other than providing a numerical narrative to a particular game.
I smell trouble. He “profiles” a double into a single and compounds it by then getting thrown out trying to steal second to make up for it. Now he wants to dictate the line up. He needs to be sat down and have an attitude check.
Just stop. Utterly asinine.
Question for Red Sox fans… if there wasn’t a luxury tax do you think the Red Sox would of bumped up the payroll and made a few big FA signings or trades this offseason to improve the roster?
Personally I think the Red Sox would have no problem spending $250-$300m a year on payroll if there wasn’t a luxury tax to worry about.
It’s not spending money that worries the Red Sox ownership, its having to pay a tax to do so. That tax will keep going up if they don’t reaet it by going under this year.
How often do you hear complaints about Russney Castillo’s contract holding back the Sox from spending money? Rarely at all because he’s been outrighted off the roster which means while the Red Sox are still paying him, none of his contract counts toward the luxury tax.
Look at the Tigers as an example of how hard and quick a team can fall when their GM makes bad decisions and waits to long to trade assets.
With Boston’s financial power and a competent GM in charge I doubt they will ever get in a situation as grim as the Tigers are in now. However it should be a cautionary tale.
Don’t worry about Uriah’s the Brewers have a lot of 220 hitters to take his place.
The Brewers infield is a mess. Sogard , Gyorko , Healy 3B, Urias , Arcia SS, Huira 2B, Smoak, Braun 1B. Good luck with that.
I’m with the article… no need to mess with success… Acuna has a higher OBP and SLG, that Ozzie, which suggest he’ll not only be on base, but be in position to score easily off a simple hit. Throw Ozzie and Freeman who have good avg (meaning they at least get base hits) behind him and that should drive in more runs overall. Plus you got that thump where Acuna might start a game off with a bomb, changing the dynamic of the game before the first out. I like Ozuna batting 4th swinging for the fence… he shouldn’t batt any earlier
Jeez, MLB Trade Rumors has become terrible with allowing trolls on their site. Clean it up.
Yes please
Eichmanesque comment
I’ll say the same thing here I used to say on the MLB comment pages…
DON’T FEED THE TROLLS!
So anyone that doesn’t have your point of view is a troll.
@RLD
If you are replying to me, the answer is no. Nor is there anything in DFTT that says only I am right. The point is when an individual identifies someone THEY believe is a Troll rising to take the bait general makes the comment environment more toxic
What a lot dont understand, the original purpose of a lead-off hitter is someone who can get on base by any means necessary. Avg means nothing from this spot, but OBP does… Technically… Your 2nd spot hitter is supposed to get them into scoring position and so on… That’s the intention anyway.
So not a lot of people get the purpose of batting order, they just go on what they are used to seeing.
However, it’s a different time. Hit the person where they feel most comfortable. Chances are they dont feel like they are comfortable in the clutch until placed in that spot.
A manager should build their lineup based upon their ACES. Knowing their roles is the biggest key to success.
Acuna should start the year off in the #1 hole. No need to change what works. I say a lot though will depend on how spring training goes. If Acuna is batting like 100 and Ender is batting like 500, I’d say that will have something to do with it. If everyone is pretty much having a good spring the order probably will be Acuna, Albies, Freeman, Ozuna, Markakis/Duvall, Riley/Camargo, Swanson, d”Arnaud, Inciarte. Albies, Inciarte, and Swanson could be switched, either could be in the 2nd. spot, they all are kinda hot & cold at times.