Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Sleeper hitters for Week 12 (June 12-18)
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Ozuna has been a hitter transformed since the start of May, but his roster rate has been slow to catch up. It's past time to add him with the Braves having the best hitter matchups this week, facing the Tigers for three games and the Rockies for four.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Clubs 12th homer
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Ozuna went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's 13-10 extra-inning win over the Mets.
Atlanta hitters slugged five homers on the night, with Ozuna's coming in the fifth inning off Stephen Nogosek. The veteran DH continues to produce after turning his season around, and since the beginning of May, Ozuna is slashing .315/.378/.639 with 10 of his 12 homers on the year.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Pulled early for not hustling
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Manager Brian Snitker confirmed after Sunday's 8-5 victory over the Diamondbacks that Ozuna was removed in the sixth inning of the contest due to a lack of hustle, John Marshall of the Associated Press reports. "I guarantee he feels worse than I do for having to take him out," Snitker said.
After reaching base on a walk in the top of the second inning, Ozuna returned to the plate in the fourth inning and belted a Zac Gallen pitch to deep center for what appeared to be a potential home run. However, the ball instead hit an overhang on the outfield wall just below the line for a home run, and Ozuna had to settle for a 415-foot single after he didn't run at full speed out of the batter's box. Based on Snitkner's comments, Ozuna seems to have been contrite about the lack of hustle, so the 32-year-old likely won't be in line for a prolonged benching.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Not in lineup Friday
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Ozuna is not in the lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks.
Travis d'Arnaud will operate as Atlanta's designated hitter and bat fifth with right-hander Merrill Kelly on the mound for Arizona. Ozuna has gone 1-for-20 with six strikeouts over his last five games. He holds an overall .726 OPS this year versus righties and an .805 OPS versus lefties.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Ozuna's overall numbers are respectable enough, but you gain a new appreciation for them when you're reminded he was batting .085 (5 for 59) at the end of April. What it means is he's had a ridiculous May -- one in which he's hit .338 (27 for 80) with nine homers and a 1.117 OPS, settling in as the Braves' everyday DH even with Travis d'Arnaud back in the fold. Ozuna has been terrible the past two years, but he was the No. 1 outfielder during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and has been driving the ball the other way much like he did then. He's had a career of extreme highs and lows, so at this point, you might as well pick him up and see where it goes.
Maybe you haven't fully bought into Marcell Ozuna's month of May in which he's hitting .347 (26 for 75) with nine home runs, but the Braves have, giving him everyday at-bats at DH. Their matchups this week, most notably a three-game series against the Athletics, make for a good time to roll the dice.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Homers in third straight
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Ozuna went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Phillies.
He got hold of a Matt Strahm fastball in the eighth inning, giving Atlanta its last gasp of offense on the night. Ozuna has gone yard in three straight games and now has nine homers in 19 May contests, slashing .366/.438/.789 over that stretch with 20 RBI -- an incredible turnaround considering his .085/.194/.203 line at the end of April.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Continues power surge
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Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, a walk and three total runs in an 8-5 win against the Phillies on Thursday.
Ozuna took Aaron Nola deep in the second inning for his 10th homer of the campaign. Eight of those have come over his past 17 contests, a stretch during which he is batting .333 (21-for-63) with 19 RBI. Ozuna was nearly unplayable early in the season, but he's turned things around in May, tying for fourth in the league with eight homers on the month so far.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Swats homer in win
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Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 4-3 win against the Dodgers on Wednesday.
With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ozuna launched a monstrous 452-foot, two-run shot to center field. It was his ninth long ball of the season, seven of which have come since May 3. After hitting a miserable .085 though the end of April, Ozuna has turned things around with a huge month of May during which he is batting .328 (21-for-64) with seven homers, 18 RBI and 12 runs scored through 17 contests.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Drives in three runs
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Ozuna went 2-for-4 with three RBI in Friday's victory against the Mariners.
Ozuna tied the game with an RBI single in the seventh inning before adding two insurance runs with another single in the eighth. He's now riding a six-game hitting streak, going 8-for-24 (.333) with eight RBI during that stretch. Still, the veteran outfielder is sporting an ugly .189/.289/.434 slash line through 30 games.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Not in lineup Tuesday
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Ozuna is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.
Eddie Rosario will serve as Atlanta's designated hitter and bat fifth with right-hander Dane Dunning on the mound for Texas. Ozuna had drawn three straight starts at DH prior to this night of rest.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Mashes eighth homer
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Ozuna went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Monday's win over the Rangers.
Texas sent backup catcher Sandy Leon to the mound in the ninth inning with Atlanta ahead 10-0, and Ozuna rubbed a little salt in the wound by putting a batting-practice fastball into the second deck in left field. The 32-year-old slugger continues his impressive May, batting .300 (12-for-40) on the month with six of his eight homers and 12 of his 14 RBI.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Slugs seventh homer
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Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
He supplied all of Atlanta's offense with a second-inning shot off Jose Berrios. Ozuna has flipped the switch in May, batting .333 (10-for-30) through eight games with five of his seven homers on the year and 10 of his 12 RBI.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: On bench again
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Ozuna is on the bench again for Atlanta's game in Toronto on Friday, Grant McAuley of 929 The Game reports.
Ozuna started the first game after Travis d'Arnaud returned but has now been benched each of the last two contests. The 32-year-old Ozuna had started seven in a row and has been on a power binge of late, but it's clear d'Arnaud's return is going to eat into his playing time.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Sits out Wednesday
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Ozuna is absent from Atlanta's lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Atlanta is going with Sean Murphy in the designated hitter spot and Travis d'Arnaud at catcher. Ozuna had started each of the last seven contests.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Continues power surge
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Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-4 victory against Baltimore on Saturday.
Ozuna opened the scoring in the contest with a solo shot to right field in the third inning. The veteran has been on a heater of late, going 5-for-16 with four long balls and seven RBI over his past four games. Ozuna is still trying to dig out of a rough start that has his season slash line at .152/.256/.392, but he has as many homers this season (six) as both Ronald Acuna and Austin Riley. His recent surge seems to have allowed him to recapture a near-everyday role, as Saturday's game marked his fifth consecutive start.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Homers again Thursday
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Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and a walk in Thursday's 6-3 win over Miami.
Ozuna's fourth-inning solo shot put Atlanta up 4-2, which was all the offense the team needed to win. His last five games played have all come against Miami, and he's torched his former team by going 7-for-21 (.333) with three homers, six RBI, seven runs scored and a 3:5 BB:K over that span. That solid stretch has raised his slash line to .153/.256/.375 over 82 plate appearances, so he still has some work to do to get his numbers in the respectable range. He also has five homers, eight RBI and 10 runs scored this season.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Revenge game in Miami
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Ozuna went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in Wednesday's 14-6 win over the Marlins.
Facing the team he spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with, Ozuna launched a grand slam in the second inning off Braxton Garrett before tagging Garrett again in the third for a solo shot. Ozuna's had an awful beginning to the season -- he had only two solo homers and no other RBI through 19 games coming into this one -- but if he heats up at the plate, he should quickly reclaim the starting DH spot. The 32-year-old is slashing only .147/.247/.338 through 77 plate appearances.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Out of lineup Tuesday
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Ozuna is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins.
There is growing speculation that Ozuna might fully lose his spot on Atlanta's active roster when Michael Harris (back) and Travis d'Arnaud (concussion) return from their respective IL stints. Ozuna, 32, has batted just .073/.190/.200 through 63 plate appearances this season.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Could lose roster spot
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Ozuna might be one of the players dropped from the 26-man roster when Michael Harris (back) and Travis d'Arnaud (concussion) return from the injured list, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Ozuna is slashing a pitiful .073/.190/.200 through 63 plate appearances to begin the season and has started only two of the last five games, losing playing time to the likes of Kevin Pillar and Eddie Rosario. D'Arnaud's return especially could leave Ozuna without a role on the roster, as he could take over as the DH against left-handed pitching. The 32-year-old is signed through 2024 at $16 million a season with a club option for 2025, but Atlanta might be willing to eat most of that contract, rather than carry an unproductive bat that offers little defensive value.
