Braves Report: Lineup wizardry

When did Memorial Day baseball become optional?

The Braves are one of four MLB teams off Monday. They also sat out last year’s holiday and, by my count, have played exactly four Memorial Day games in the last eight seasons.

There’s more travel than ever, of course, and tricky schedules to contend with. The day’s also about a lot more than baseball.

But the unofficial start of summer just ain’t the same without the Bravos blasting on a poolside radio, you know?

Anyway … here’s the best beat writer in the biz with a look at Walt Weiss’ masterful batting order maneuvering.

YOU SLICK SON OF A GUN, YOU

Credit: AP Photo/Michael Laughlin

Credit: AP Photo/Michael Laughlin

By Chad Bishop

On Wednesday, the Braves used their 37th different lineup in the season’s first 49 games.

The permutations of the starting nine have been forced by all sorts of different factors: injuries, hot hitting, slumps, the opposing starting pitcher, the opposing bullpen personnel, etc.

Braves manager Walt Weiss was asked if he would rather have a somewhat similar lineup each day, or if he found it fun to construct something different more often than not.

“I don’t think I have a preference either way,” Weiss said. “I think a lot of it’s just based on matchups that day, guys are swinging well — and there’s subtle ways as a manager you can try to slow the game down for certain players that are struggling, whether it’s dropping them in the lineup just a little bit to maybe get ‘em out of the heat, so to speak, a tad.

“And then having them watch a game from a dugout once in a while when they’re used to playing every day, that it helps to slow the game down a little bit. I do that with the lineup at times.”

↕️ The Braves have had 12 different players hit seventh in the batting order.

↕️ They have only had two, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies, hit third.

↕️ Mauricio Dubón has hit everywhere in the lineup except in the 3-hole.

In Miami, catcher Drake Baldwin went on the 10-day injured list because of a strained oblique. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Eli White were both activated off the IL. José Azócar was designated for assignment. Those four roster moves alone shifted the way the lineup looked.

Center fielder Michael Harris II hit second Wednesday, just the 23rd time in 569 career games he had hit in that spot.

He went 2-for-5 and scored a run.

📲 Hey, it’s working just fine so far. Y’all make sure to follow Chad at @MrChadBishop.

SPEAKING OF LINEUPS …

Drake Baldwin is good.

Actually, he’s great.

Before landing on the IL this week (no firm timetable, but his oblique injury is considered “mild”), he actually led the Braves in wRC+ — a fancy stat that stands for “weighted runs created plus” and basically just measures how much a hitter contributes offensively compared to an average peer.

Baldwin’s rating of 161 means he’s 61% better than the baseline, which is quite the feat. To lead a team that also features Olson and Acuña is extra impressive.

But take a closer look at the chart below.

Credit: Rahul Deshpande

Credit: Rahul Deshpande

That’s a real strong lineup, man.

Harris and Albies are reborn — and guys like Dominic Smith and Jorge Mateo are routinely coming up big. (Out of fairness we won’t shade Ha-Seong Kim too much just yet; it’s only been like 10 days since his 2026 debut.)

Baldwin will certainly be missed and, with Sean Murphy out too, the offensive production from the catcher position figures to lag plenty in coming days.

But, as columnist Michael Cunningham recently put it, “the Braves have enough bats to win even when some good ones are out of the lineup or failing to meet expectations.”

The pitching ain’t half bad, either.

POLL: WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE B-LISTER?

Not to pull a Paul Byrd here and get everyone mad at me … but who’s your favorite Braves B-lister? Your favorite guy who’s not a star, per se, but a big-time contributor so far in 2026?

✅ Check out the options below, then go vote via our fancy form or shoot me an email with your choice. (I tossed pitcher Martín Pérez into the mix with the position players; his contributions felt too important to ignore.)

QUICK, SOME OTHER NEWS!

Credit: AP Photo/Michael Laughlin

Credit: AP Photo/Michael Laughlin

🔎 Third baseman Austin Riley may be turning an offensive corner thanks to a small adjustment (stop dipping that shoulder!).

👍 AJC columnist Ken Sugiura tracked down the deets on Bobby Cox’s first managerial ejection. They’re odd. And telling.

🫢 I desperately need the Alan Jackson, way-down-yonder-on-the-Chattahoochee bobblehead the Braves just announced for Aug. 8.

🐂 Recent bullpen moves: Carlos Carrasco is back in the fold. Dylan Dodd, too. And Aaron Bummer is … gone.

WHAT’S ON DECK: NATIONALS AND A TRIP TO FENWAY

The Nationals come calling at Truist Park this weekend. Friday through Sunday’s games begin at 7:15, 4:10 and 4:10 p.m., respectively. All on BravesVision.

🤔 What to know: The Braves took two of three from the Nats back in late April. You may recall one of them was JR Ritchie’s give-up-a-homer-on-the-very-first-pitch big league debut.

Washington, meanwhile, has won or split three straight series and is fighting the resurgent Phillies for (a distant) second place in the NL East.

💪 The pitching matchups: Ritchie’s back with Triple-A Gwinnett for now, so no encore on tap. Here’s who is:

🎉 Other festivities: You know you want Friday’s “straw cowboy hat giveaway.” On Sunday, the first 3,000 kids get some City Connect-style socks. The aforementioned Paul Byrd and Kris Medlen (haven’t heard that name in a while) will sign autographs in The Battery beforehand, too.

BRAVES AT RED SOX

⌚ Game times: No Memorial Day game, as mentioned. But tune in Tuesday through Thursday at 6:45, 6:45 and 4:10 p.m., respectively.

All on BravesVision.

🤔 What to know: The Braves took two of three from the Sawx last weekend at Truist Park. Boston went on to sweep a series with the Royals … but they remain five games below .500.

👀 Eyes on Olson: Multiple Braves have solid career numbers at Fenway Park, but pay particular attention to Olson — who’s hit six home runs in 18 career games there, while posting a silly 1.066 OPS.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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Until next time.