Alex Verdugo DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker said he would start Eli White in left field against left-handed pitchers, while Alex Verdugo will be in left field against right-handers, as he was for all three games against the San Diego Padres over the weekend. White has hit .291 with nine extra-base hits and an .814 OPS in 87 plate appearances against right-handers. Verdugo has hit .309 with eight extra-base hits and a .760 OPS in 100 plate appearances against right-handers. But White hits from the right side and Verdugo hits from the left side, so the Braves will go with a straight platoon in left field, at least for the time being. "Honestly, I'm not going to rule out anything," Snitker said. "But my plan when we got Ronald (back) was, it's gonna obviously push Eli off of right field. And I think I felt like we'd have kind of a good right-left option in left."

Atlanta Braves outfielder Alex Verdugo went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk, and a stolen base in the Braves' 4-0 win over the Reds on Monday night. Verdugo is up to .322 in his 14 games with the Braves and has a .367 wOBA with seven doubles, seven RBI, nine runs scored, and six walks. He has taken over as the team's regular leadoff hitter and has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games. He should continue to serve as the primary spark plug at the top of the order for Atlanta until Ronald Acuna Jr. is fully recovered from his knee injury suffered last season. Verdugo has been a huge addition for Atlanta and can help your fantasy team if you need on-base production and runs scored for the next few weeks.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Alex Verdugo will make his season debut on Friday night hitting leadoff against Chris Paddack and the Minnesota Twins. Verdugo was recently called up from Triple-A Gwinnett where he hit for a .751 OPS in 33 PA. The lefty will look to bounce back after having a subpar season for the Yankees in 2024, hitting for just an 83 OPS+. The Braves need all the help they can get in their lineup, which has been underwhelming by their standards and has led to just a 5-13 record. Both lefties and righties have been hitting Paddack well this season, giving Verdugo intriguing opportunity in DFS leagues. Fantasy managers needing outfield help in deeper leagues may want to snag Verdugo off their waiver wire as well.