Albies Resurgence Working Everywhere in Braves Lineup

Ozzie Albies added another big game to his scorching month of September. In the win over the Astros on Sunday, the Atlanta Braves' second baseman went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. 

It brought his stats for the month to a .292 average with a .883 OPS, three home runs, six extra-base hits and eight RBIs. 

He’s looking more and more like the All-Star version of himself that we have gotten to know over the years. 

“I’ve always said he’s always going to give himself a chance to get it right because he’s not going to panic, and he has an unbelievable confidence in his abilities and in himself as a ballplayer, and he’s the same player every day,” manager Brian Snitker said. 

It shows the payoff of staying the course no matter how tough things can get. He eventually pulled through and started to produce at a higher level. 

Snitker penciled Albies into the cleanup spot for the fifth time this season, showing that he’s flexible to go where he’s needed in the lineup. 

“It’s been like that forever,” Snitker said. “I remember in the World Series, I moved him down. I think it was seventh or something, maybe in Game 6, when we won, and I called him and told him, and he did it. You know what? He’s gonna hit wherever his name is, he’s gonna grab his bat, go up there and whack.” 

During his hot streak that dates back to Aug. 12, Albies has batted as high as third, as low as seventh and everywhere in between.

While it’s a better-late-than-never performance, it’s coming at an important time in his contract. He has a club option worth $7 million for next season that the Braves are likely to exercise. 

Not too long ago, it was up for discussion if the Braves would choose the $4 million buyout instead to make him a free agent. Now, picking up the option is a steal, so it’s worth seeing if he can keep this up for a full season. 

While there are doubts, keep in mind that Albies is moving further away from the wrist injury that he suffered in the second half of last season. It affects your swing and your ability to bring your hands through the ball.  

Even when you’re healthy, it takes time to get things truly back in order. 

By next season, he’ll be well over a year and a half removed. It can be more reasonable to expect that he’ll have an improved performance earlier in the season. 

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