Braves' Brian Snitker Speaks out on New Lineup After Fast Start vs. Yankees

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker has been tinkering with the team's lineup for weeks. He's mixed and matched, placing former All-Star hitters in all kinds of different spots and situations. But not much has worked for the Braves offense this season.

Snitker, though, may have finally found something with his latest tinker.

Over the past three games, Ronald Acuña Jr. has hit third instead of leadoff, and former cleanup hitter, Matt Olson, has continued to hit second.

With those two All-Stars hitting second and third, Snitker has moved left fielder Jurickson Profar to the leadoff spot.

To begin the unofficial second half Friday, the new order produced three runs in the first inning, with Profar, Olson and Acuña scoring the three runs. Behind the fast start, the Braves mostly cruised to a 7-3 victory against the New York Yankees.

After the win to start the second half, Snitker addressed what he's seen with the new top of the Braves order.

"I like it. I like [Jurickson] Profar leading off," Snitker told reporters. "He takes a walk. He got a single leading off. He had a really good year last year leading off. I kind of like the flow of what that does right now."

Profar mostly batted second and third for the San Diego Padres last season. But in 19 starts in the leadoff spot during 2024, Profar hit .380 with a 1.071 OPS in 83 plate appearances.

This season, Profar is batting .270 with a .605 OPS in nine games hitting leadoff. However, Profar is batting .357 with an .829 OPS in the leadoff spot when Acuña is also batting third.

Snitker has deployed the new order of Profar-Olson-Acuña at the top of the Atlanta lineup the past three games. It's obviously still a small sample, but in those three contests, the Braves have averaged six runs per game and scored seven runs twice.

In those three games, the Braves are 2-1.

Acuña has such raw, electric speed that it's always made the most sense before now to hit him leadoff. Olson has so much power that his natural spot is cleanup.

But without many other Braves hitters consistently producing this summer, Snitker has rightfully found a way to bat those two All-Star together. That could be the foundation to an Atlanta offensive rebound in the second half.

Through three games, Acuña is hitting more with men on base. With Olson in the No. 2 spot, the first baseman has had more opportunities to score runs. Olson is second on the team in walks, and although he doesn't have great speed, his speed isn't a liability closer to the top of the order.

Profar isn't Acuña, but he's a table setter in his own right.

Maybe behind the new top of the order, the Braves could still make a run at contending this summer.