In an effort to rejuvenate their offense, the Braves shifted superstar leadoff man Ronald Acuña Jr. into the middle of the order last season. That introduces the question: Where will he hit in 2026?
“That’s a good conversation,” new Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I’m looking forward to that with him. I want to pick his brain with that. It’s enticing to have him at the top of the order because I really like when a lineup turns over that there’s teeth right away. Your pitcher — you’ve got to run through a gauntlet as soon as that lineup turns over.
So there’s some incentive to — he was prolific in that position. The other argument is, you could put him in a more RBI position in the lineup and hit him third. Those are conversations we’re going to have, we’re going to talk about. We’re a ways away from talking about lineups and that type of thing. But it’s on my radar.”
It’s an interesting debate in which it’s easy to argue either side. For what it’s worth, Acuña’s raw numbers were better at leadoff last year. He slashed .310/.423/.557 in 189 plate appearances as the leadoff man (43 games). In 46 games hitting third, he slashed .263/.409/.479 (208 plate appearances). He had 20 RBIs in each spot.
Outfielder Jurickson Profar’s red-hot August (1.026 OPS) shows that the Braves have a viable alternative should they opt to hit Acuña lower. Profar, though, cooled off in September (.625 OPS). The Braves enter the new year optimistic their marquee signing from last winter will be a pivotal piece, but it’s fair to wonder how often he’ll play as he did in August, when he was among the sport’s most prolific bats.
Former manager Brian Snitker, now in a front-office advisory role, previously vowed not to remove Acuña from the leadoff spot, but the 2025 offense was ripe for experimentation. And ultimately, the Braves surged in the second half, which gives hope to starting this season much better than the last.
Acuña, healthy and thriving as he plays winter ball in his native Venezuela, is going to be an instrumental part of this offense as always. He’s long been the Braves’ ignitor, and that might be reason enough to keep him at leadoff. As Weiss said, forcing opposing pitchers to see Acuña when the game begins and when the lineup flips over is an appealing proposition, and the Braves have seen how valuable that can be.
And on that note, the Braves expect an aggressive Acuña in 2026 as he’s further removed from his second ACL tear. The inventor of the 40-70 club could again wreak havoc on the base paths.
“Totally understand how the way he played in ’25,” Weiss said. “I mean, with (suffering ACL tears in) both knees, there’s not a lot of comps for that, right? So, I just thought naturally he would be more aggressive, but it’s nice to see (how he’s played in Venezuela). He’s an exciting player, and I think he’ll get back to where he was.”
The Braves are returning nearly the same offense from last season — including hitting coach Tim Hyers — with several tweaks. They’re still involved in the shortstop market, but newcomer Mauricio Dubón is slated to start there should the team fail to acquire an alternative.
They also signed veteran outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who can play all three outfield spots and will make it easier for the Braves to use their starting outfielders as designated hitters on days they would like to rest their legs.
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