Mike

Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski clobbered a 398-foot (102.4 mph EV) solo shot off of Sandy Alcantara in the second inning that increased the Braves’ early advantage to 3-0. He then singled and scored on an RBI knock by Ronald Acuna Jr. in the fifth inning. Yastrzemski also smacked an RBI double in the sixth that made it a 6-2 game. With his three-hit attack, the 35-year-old outfielder is now slashing .234/.305/.365 with three long balls and 14 RBI on the season.

Yaz, currently in a platoon with José Azocar, drew the start in right field as Atlanta faced Brayan Bello. The veteran outfielder then took advantage of the matchup with a fourth-inning solo homer off Bello, one of two long balls the starter surrendered. Yastrzemski will shift back to left field once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns from injury, and he’ll continue starting against most right-handers.

As the leadoff man in a tie game in the 10th, Yastrzemski tried twice to bunt the runner to third, but both rolled foul. That freed him up to swing away, and he lined a ball into left-center to end the game. Yastrzemski is 4-for-7 with one homer, two doubles and five RBI in his four appearances this week, raising his OPS from .516 to .597. He needs a little hot streak here to guarantee that he starts over Mauricio Dubón against righties after Ronald Acuña Jr. returns.

Yastrzemski hit ninth tonight and was pulled after the Cubs brought in a lefty to replace Colin Rea, but he made the most of his two plate appearances. The homer was his first in 127 plate appearances this season. He apparently used them all up while crushing six as one of the Grapefruit League’s best performers this spring.

It was Yastrzemski’s sixth home run of the spring to go along with a .400/.512/1.000 slash line. The 35-year-old is not going to be an exciting pick in fantasy leagues, but he is going to start against all right-handed pitching, and this is by far the friendliest home park he’s ever played in during his career. He’s a better fit in daily moves leagues, but is worth a look near the end of 15-team league drafts as well.

Yastrzemski struck out in his other two at-bats, so his spring average fell from .571 to .529 today. Yastrzemski is due to move up at least one spot in Atlanta’s order with Jurickson Profar gone, and he might get a look as the No. 2 hitter against righties if the Braves want to go back to batting Drake Baldwin cleanup. He’s still probably not a mixed-league guy as a platoon player, but the Braves are fortunate to have him.

Profar will get the full-season ban for testing positive for a PED for the second time. The 33-year-old missed 80 games due to suspension in 2025 and hit .243/.353/.434 with 14 homers in his 318 at-bats. Mike Yastrzemski and Eli White seem likely to platoon with Profar unavailable in 2026, but it’s possible Atlanta could look outside the organization.

Yastrzemski already has three homers in five games this spring. He had 25 homers for the Giants in 2021, but he’s come in at 15-18 each of the last four years and probably won’t do much better there as a platoon player in Atlanta.

It was surprising when the Braves signed Yastrzemski for $23 million while possessing a full outfield, but putting him in left field against righties and using Jurickson Profar as a DH definitely seems like an upgrade. Because Yastrzemski won’t play much against lefties and doesn’t offer much in terms of batting average or steals, his fantasy ceiling is quite low.

The club option is for $7 million and contains a $4 million buyout. The veteran outfielder should be in the lineup on a consistent basis against right-handers, but doesn’t offer a ton of fantasy upside as a player who will turn 36 in August with so-so results over his last few campaigns.