I probably wouldn’t have considered such a notion a few years ago. Moving Ronald Acuna Jr. down in the lineup? Why!? He’s one of the greatest leadoff hitters in the game’s history.

Well, that was back when the entire lineup was hitting on all cylinders and marching toward the home run record. Now that Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies have lost the ability to hit the baseball, Marcell Ozuna has been a shell of himself since his hip injury, and our shortstop is possibly the weakest hitter in the entire league, it might be time to reconsider Acuna’s place in the lineup.

Jurickson Profar is coming back very soon, before the All-Star break. Unfortunately, Brian Snitker has already penciled him into the number two hole in the lineup.

I don’t like it.

Remember when Snit Tried Hitting the LFs 2nd Behind Acuna?

First of all, Profar weakens the spot behind Acuna. Granted, it’s better than when Snit was parading Alex Verdugo and Eli White out into the second spot. Profar has shown the ability to get on base with a .380 OBP last season, but he is on a different level than Acuna or Olson in terms of power.

Profar had a renaissance year last season, but he’s always been pretty good at getting on base. His career .331 OBP encompasses some pretty bad seasons and one really good season (2024).

Dude does not have the power to hit second. There have been many studies on where to hit your best player; second in the lineup is often a landing spot. Profar is good, but even at his best, he’s nowhere near our best. It creates a tentpole lineup.

We watched Acuna get walked in key situations throughout the past few weeks, because pitchers have an easy decision to make when they look at one of the greatest hitters of all time, and Alex Verdugo on deck.

How Does Acuna Hit When Bad Hitters Are Behind Him?

There was a four-game stretch between June 17th and June 20th where Brian Snitker put the leftfielders in the two-hole behind Acuna. Guess what happened? Acuna was walked in 33% of his plate appearances. He had one RBI, and it was by himself. His .556 OBP was great, but you don’t want to take the bat out of the hands of a man who wields the power to turn a baseball into powder. Pitchers were unafraid of nibbling and doing their best not to give Acuna a pitch to hit.

News Flash: Putting Profar in that spot will not force pitchers to pitch to Acuna in key situations. It also puts a guy with a career .245 average with a .394 slug in potentially key situations late in games. Who would you rather face?

Are you giving Acuna a pitch to hit?

I’ll let Michael Scott answer that for you.

Profar’s best attribute is getting on base. This Braves lineup is shallow. Profar will be a vast upgrade over the current leftfield situation, but please don’t hit him second!

Acuna is a Damage Doer of Legendary Measures

Yes, Acuna gets on base, but he does damage. He is one of the best at doing damage. He is on the Martin Riggs tier of damage doing.

Let Profar get on base in front of him so he can do damage with runners on. It will benefit Profar to have Acuna, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Marcell Ozuna lined up behind him. We’ll get the best of Profar. Let him get on base and let the big bats drive him in.

Depending on the day, Acuna is on a 162-game pace to hit around 50 homers. Why would we continue to send him to the plate with so many guaranteed at-bats with nobody on base? The first PA of each game is guaranteed to have nobody on because he leads off. After that, he’s relying on guys like Michael Harris II and Nick Allen to get on in front of him. Why shoot ourselves in the foot – in the feet? We are shooting our own feet over here!

This team is not good enough at hitting to lead off with their best hitter. This is not 2023.

Also, if Acuna doesn’t drive Profar in, we give Olson, Riley, and Ozuna a shot. If Acuna gets walked after Profar gets on? Did somebody order a three-run donger? This move extends the lineup rather than create another hole in the damn thing.

I’m begging you, Snit, please don’t hit Profar second.

What do you think? Am I wrong? Let us know in the comments below.

Read More About Ronald Acuna Jr. at Talkin’ Tomahawk

• The Good and Bad of Acuna’s Defense on Display
• Is Acuna Bad at Defense?
• Most Valuable Ronald Acuna Jr. Rookie Cards