The Braves’ nominal starters at each position, defined as the guys with the most starts were:
- C – Drake Baldwin
- 1B – Matt Olson
- 2B – Ozzie Albies
- 3B – Austin Riley
- SS – Nick Allen
- LF – Jurickson Profar
- CF – Michael Harris II
- RF – Ronald Acuña Jr.
- DH – Marcell Ozuna
That’s nine positions. How many do you think will have a different nominal starter in 2026? Olson and Harris
seem like locks. The others all have stuff a bit up in the air — Baldwin may be more of a DH if the team holds on to and prioritizes catcher defense, Albies might lose his job if his performance doesn’t improve, Riley keeps getting hurt, and maybe Profar/Acuña get rotated through the DH slot such that they aren’t a nominal starter in an outfield corner. Allen and Ozuna are the biggest questions, one because he’s not starter quality and the other because he’s going to be a free agent pending a late-breaking extension.
For bonus difficulty, consider that the five starters with the most starts this past year were Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider, Grant Holmes, Chris Sale, and Spencer Schwellenbach. If you had to add five starts to the nine positions, i.e., 14 “opportunities” for a changeover in total, how would your guess change? Holmes seems unlikely to be a top-five starter for the team next year, and you probably want to count out Elder, but can you?
Anyway, stuff for you to ponder.
