After reading through BravesRays post on platoon splits, found here, I got to thinking what were some crazy splits I could think of to maximize the braves offense. I mean the team is projected to finish middle of the pack in the division so they clearly need someone to backseat manage the squad to the division title. So I will present three options that are just crazy enough to work.

1) Johan Camargo in left Acuna in right and Markakis on the bench vs. Lefties:

So this was not all my idea, I originally thought just a simple swap of Markakis for Camargo would do. However, Mark Bowman in January wrote this article which suggested Camargo could play left. And I think it could work. We all know Markakis is not in right to play Ender like defense, so I am not too worried about a potential defensive decline should an infielder find their way in the outfield to play a new position. But Camargo is not just any infielder, he is one of the best defensive players on the team. I mean if a former catcher, Kyle Schwarber, can play left, then surely Camargo can not embarrass himself. The Cardinals had Matt Holiday in left simply because his bat warranted a position, and left was the spot he could do the least damage defensively. So, placing Acuna in right would be a defensive upgrade in right, and Camargo would likely be as good if not better than Markakis playing in the outfield. If there is no defensive damage, then we can assess the offensive benefit. Looking at the projected splits from BravesRays we can see that Camargo is an upgrade in wOBA and SLG%, while being equivalent to Markakis in the other categories. Moreover, Markakis would be below league average against lefties in wOBA and SLG%, while Camargo would be above league average in these categories. This switch therefore makes sense to me.

2) Johan Camargo in left Acuna in Center and Inciarte on the bench vs. Lefties:

Well this is slightly more crazy, because Inciarte's defense is likely to be better than the outfield would be by placing Camargo in left. But, Inciarte's offensive struggles against lefties are well known around here. So why not take him out of the lead off spot and give that to Acuna, who would rake. Also, so would Camargo. Relative to Ender, Camargo would be an improvement in every category projected by BravesRays. I do recognize Ender is the best defensive outfielder on the team, and arguably in the majors, so this is not as sensible as # 1 to me. Still worth a shot, right?

3) Platoon Pache against lefties to get his feet wet, and then unleash the monster

Christian Pache should take the place of Culberson, who will not help the team offensively, and will serve primarily as a pinch hitter/rest day guy. If you want to keep Culberson becausse of his super utility ability, and as a smokescreen to confuse teams as to why Dansby is in the outfield, then Adam Duval could easily be replaced by Pache, who by all rights looks about ready for the Show. I get it it is spring training, but Acuna did similar things last year, and did not skip a beat when he came up in Cincinati. It is time the the Braves upgrade right field, and Pache could do that immediately.