Brace yourselves: lineup complaints are coming (or never really left)
I suppose there’s a chance that when he returns, or at some point thereafter, Ronald Acuña Jr. will hit somewhere other than leadoff. That chance, at this point, seems fairly small. But, talking about that chance is somewhat beside the point, because whatever the Braves choose to do with Acuña once he’s back, they’re going to have to do something about the leadoff spot while he continues to get back up to playing speed.
The question here is twofold. First, who should bat leadoff in his absence? You can make a number of sound arguments here. I look forward to them. Second, who will end up batting leadoff in his absence? These two are by no means obligated to have the same answer. The Braves’ attitude towards lineup construction is perhaps best described, at least to date, as half-hearted: they get the concepts, but don’t care so much about putting them into practice.
So, two questions: one where you can marshal data, and the other, well, is probably mostly about how well you can attune yourself to the vibes of six-weeks-from-now. Have at it. I’ll throw my own answers into the thread at some point.