Before we get to the piece, let’s catch up on today’s Braves Roster News.

Albies and Acuña Update

Not good on either front. Braves shouldn’t be pushing Ozzie Albies if he can’t hit from the right side. Acuña will likely need longer than anticipated.

Matt Adams is Back!

While the need for Matt Adams has dissipated a bit with the arrival of Nick Markakis, he’s still a valuable LH bat that can change a game in one swing. He should still see some DH time against RHP. Let’s get real for a second…Chad Sobotka might’ve been optioned, but he’s not going anywhere. It’s painfully obvious that he’s a permanent member of the taxi squad.

Tonight’s Lineup

I thought that Charlie Culberson would definitely get a look at 3B after the weekend turned out to be unkind to both Austin Riley and Johan Camargo, but I was mistaken.

Now…Where Does Adam Duvall Fit In?

Player A is sporting an absolutely awful OPS, hovering around .500. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Player B’s OPS has been around .800 all year. In addition, baseball savant is rating player B higher in just about everything (screenshots seen below). Now the question is, why does it seem like one of these players positions is locked in while the other spent just about the entire 2019 season in AAA?

Player A

Player B

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now this comparison is between Ender Inciarte and Adam Duvall. While they are both currently playing every game due to unfortunate injury, what happens when Ronnie returns? Everyone touts Ender’s defense as being worth putting up with him at the plate, but is it really? If that’s the argument, I doubt Pache would be worse at the plate while showing us even better defense. Duvall has Ender beat in sprint speed by a good bit. Duvall even used to play center field and he’s a wizard with the glove, I’ll take him in either corner spot all day every day.

In 2016 and 2017 Duvall had back to back 30 homer seasons and was on pace for about 25 before going ice cold after being traded to Atlanta in 2018. This slump got him sent to AAA where he did nothing but mash for months. He finished 2019 with 42 homers in 142 games between AAA and MLB. Since returning to Atlanta for 2020 he’s done much of the same. He has 3 homers in less than 50 at bats this season, but more importantly he’s getting on base and driving in runs. He even crushed the go ahead home run Saturday night.

When it comes to contracts, Ender will make $8M in 2021, Duvall will likely make half that in his last year of arbitration. Why should the Braves pay double for less production? Ender has become expendable with Duvall on the team, especially with Cristian Pache and Drew Waters both coming up capable of manning center field. Let’s have some fun, in the comments brainstorm your favorite Ender trade! I’m sure Ryan has a few more trade ideas than he let on in his article a few days ago…

All in all Adam Duvall deserves to play every day. When Ronald Acuna Jr. eventually returns, I fear it’s inevitable that Snit will continue to start Nick Markakis and Ender over Duvall. The numbers speak for themselves and this teams needs Adam Duvall in the lineup every day.