The Braves knew getting Ozzie Albies back in this potent lineup would be very beneficial, but there had to be a little concern regarding his lingering wrist issue that cost him over a month of the season. However, he’s quickly put those questions to rest in his first seven games back.
Ozzie Albies hits 9th for the Braves. In the seven games since he’s returned from the IL, he’s hitting .407 with 2 homers
— SportsTalkATL.com (@SportsTalkATL) September 16, 2020
This was after Ozzie collected his first hit last night — unfortunately, he went 0-3 for the rest of the game. Regardless, Albies has been raking.
The 2018 All-Star was hitting below the Mendoza line before landing on the IL (.159 to be exact), but he’s pushed his average to .247 in a week. September has been a complete 180 — Albies is slashing .379/.419/.655 in seven games with four extra-base hits and five RBIs. His OPS on August 4th (the last game before he was put on the IL) was a horrendous .468. It’s now up to .710.
I was never that concerned about Ozzie. Obviously, he wasn’t 100%, and while the numbers were alarming, the sample size was minuscule. Braves fans know this guy is one of the best pure hitters in baseball, and he’s reminded everyone of that fact since his return.
If Albies stays on this trajectory, this red hot offense will be even more potent. The Braves currently have him batting ninth. How many other teams can say they have a 5.2 bWAR player from 2019 hitting last in their lineup? I’ll answer that for you — none. And with the way the rest of the lineup is currently raking, I don’t see any reason why Brian Snitker would change things up. Albies is the perfect guy to be the team’s “second leadoff man” in front of Ronald Acuña and Freddie Freeman.
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