Alex Anthopoulos told Braves fans to be patient with Ozzie Albies

The Braves’ bats have been streaky, with each piece almost taking their turn being the hottest bat in the lineup, but one player who seemingly hasn’t heated up at all this season is Ozzie Albies… until recently. It’s ironic, too, because as soon as Alex Anthopoulos appeared in an interview with Chuck and Chernoff on 680 The Fan, telling fans to be patient, the fun-loving second baseman has turned it on.

Albies’ struggles have garnered plenty of attention from Braves Country, who were, and some might still be, concerned with the three-time All-Star’s slow start to the 2025 campaign. Before the time of AA’s interview, Ozzie Albies was slashing a horrid .225/.284/.335 with only five home runs, which had come out to a 72 wRC+ (28% below league average).

Situationally, he’d been pretty horrific too at that point in the season. In 54 plate appearances with runners in scoring position from Anthopoulos’ interview, Albies was hitting .234 with just 11 RBIs and a .613 OPS. In 98 plate appearances with runners on base during that time, he was hitting .225 with a .578 OPS. That’s awful production, but Alex Anthopoulos wasn’t worried, he said in an interview with Chuck and Chernoff on 680 The Fan.

“He’s definitely better (than he’s producing). He’s young, running unbelievably well. Sprint speeds are fantastic. The work ethic has always been off the charts. He’s just not swinging the bat the way he has, especially from the right side, which he’s been pretty much Babe Ruth as a right-handed hitter. He just hasn’t had those results. He’s working very hard. The hitting coaches are working hard. We’re working as a front office to see if we can find anything.

He’s been streaky before in his career, and I think this is just one of those things he’s going to continue to work through, fight through with his youth, his work ethic, shape he is in, ultimately believe it’s going to come around.”

Anthopoulos is right. Albies was uncharacteristically struggling when he faced left-handed pitchers. The veteran second baseman has a career .903 OPS as a right-handed batter, compared to a .528 OPS in 2025 before Anthopoulos’ words of encouragement. His left-handed OPS is about 100 points lower this season compared to his career averages, but it didn’t compare to nearly 400 points from the right side.

Writing off a guy who has won two Silver Sluggers and been elected to three All-Star games after 48 games was always a bit premature, though. He’s always been a streaky hitter, and advanced analytics have never loved Ozzie Albies, as Chase pointed out earlier in the season.

“Even in his elite seasons, he ranked in the bottom half of baseball in Average Exit Velocity, Hard Hit %, and Bat Speed… Additionally, I’m not sure how much weight should be put into the 2023 campaign. He started off slow before suffering two significant stints on the IL. In every season Albies has played in at least 100 games, he’s accrued at least 3.8 WAR, which is a reminder that it is only April.”

Now? Over his last 11 games, Albies is slashing .366/.435/.463, good for an OPS of nearly .900 with four extra-base hits and four RBIs. It’s an 11-game hit streak for Ozzie Albies, and he’s finally quelling concerns.

The guy is still 28 years old and has a track record that warrants patience amid these struggles. The Braves’ switch-hitter was always going to turn it around, and though it’s only an 11-game sample size, we should give him the benefit of the doubt, as Alex Anthopoulos suggested.