I have this thought basically every time Ozzie Albies comes up in the first inning, and now I’m sharing it with you.
Through the first 18 games of the season, Albies hit sixth against right-handers, and third against left-handers. He then crept up to fifth against right-handers, then fourth, then second, and then a mix of second and fourth.
Here’s the team’s wOBA and xwOBA-to-date in 2026 against right-handers:
There’s a pretty clear gulf between Dominic Smith and Austin Riley, and Albies is even further
below that gulf. Even if you only use outputs, he still falls outside the top five without Drake Baldwin. And, of course, he’s not projected to hit well against righties either, so building a lineup that way (which is probably best) doesn’t suggest he should be hitting up so high either.
There’s also a similar, or perhaps bigger issue, but it’s one that (perhaps for good reason), no one really wants to acknowledge. This is the same pull, but against left-handers.
The Braves haven’t actually hit lefties well at all — their offensive success is largely predicated on beating up on righties thus far. But, it’s somewhat ominous that their two best performers against lefties are… two left-handed batters. Albies does have the third-best wOBA in this group of seven, but the worst xwOBA. He does project in the top four or five against lefties, so from a lineup perspective, I’m not that concerned with his usage. The very bad xwOBA against lefties for a second year in a row is… not great, though.
Anyway, the Braves probably won’t face seemingly infinite lefties for the remainder of the season (though they will again today), so at some point, it seems like a change in lineup management against right-handers could be warranted. Will we see it?
