The Atlanta Braves won the series opener against the Seattle Mariners on Friday. Entering Saturday's game, though, Braves manager Brian Snitker decided to make an interesting change to his batting order. Ronald Acuña Jr. has dealt with injuries throughout the season, putting him in a slump at the plate. To fix that, Jurickson Profar will leadoff with Acuña Jr. bats sixth.
The All-Star outfielder is one of the best leadoff hitters in Major League Baseball when healthy. However, the 2025 season has been an outlier thanks to injuries and an inconsistent offense around him. His numbers were good enough to send him to Atlanta for the All-Star Game. Despite Acuña Jr.'s success at the plate, the Braves remain near the bottom of the standings.
This weekend's series carries much more weight for Seattle than Atlanta. The Mariners' playoff hopes are still very much alive while Snitker and Co. can start focusing on 2026. Despite their struggles, the Braves want Acuña Jr. to get back on track. They hope that moving him down in the order will help him. According to The Athletic's David O'Brien, he has not hit sixth since 2018.
“Slumping Acuña batting sixth today. He’s had 10 previous starts in the sixth spot, all in his rookie season in 2018,” O'Brien said.
Profar has had his moments offensively this season, but the leadoff spot is new for him. However, Snitker needed to change something in order to revitalize Acuña Jr.'s swing. If the outfielder's slump continues, he could be stuck in the middle of the lineup for the rest of the season. On the other hand, a turnaround could easily return him to the top spot.
For the most part, the Braves go as Acuña Jr. does. Atlanta did not move any of its core players at the trade deadline, believing that 2025 is an outlier. If they want to reach their goals, the Braves need Acuña Jr. to return to his All-Star form.
