Luke

Williams

Williams had started the last four games in a row with Whit Merrifield out, but he’s still the choice to get the boot here, even though Adam Duvall and Eli White aren’t playing at all. Williams has hit .196/.275/.261 in 52 plate appearances for the Braves.

Williams doubled home a pair in the ninth to make it a 9-4 game. Still counts. The 28-year-old could be starting games for Atlanta with the Whit Merrifield injury, but the team did just trade for Cavan Biggio, and Williams hasn’t shown he can hit nearly well enough to be considered a potential reliable fantasy contributor.

It’ll take longer than that for the fracture to heal, but it might be something he can play through in the meantime. Merrifield, who has been filling in for Ozzie Albies at second base, is hitting .243/.359/.342 in 34 games since joining the Braves. Luke Williams will step in for now, and the team could consider giving Nacho Alvarez Jr. a recall and a longer look.

Merrifield was hit in the back of the head by a pitch during Tuesday’s game against the Rockies. The 35-year-old will sit at least one game while recovering, and Luke Williams is going to get the start at second base while Merrifield recovers.

Considering Williams is on the active roster, he’s likely to favorite to get the first crack at the job. The 28-year-old is just 2-for-17 in 23 games at the big league level this season but was hitting .287/.348/.508 in 46 games at Triple-A with eight home runs and 15 steals. He also hit 12 home runs and stole 28 bases in Triple-A last year with the Braves and Dodgers, so there is some mild five-category upside in deeper formats if he can hold onto the job. Both Alejo Lopez and Brian Anderson would need to be added to the 40-man roster, but Lopez is hitting .308/.394/.393 in 96 games at Triple-A with 21 steals, so he could be a speed asset if he gets an opportunity. Nacho Alvarez is currently dealing with pneumonia, which has taken him out of the running for the job, and Bowman claims there are no current plans to move Whit Merrifield to third base.

What a brutal turn of events for the Braves and fantasy managers. The Braves have already lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season and Ozzie Albies for the remainder of the regular season, and now it appears that Austin Riley will join them after being hit on the hand by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday’s game. The 27-year-old could be back in time for the playoffs if the Braves make it in, which is far less likely than it looked earlier in the season. For now, the team seems likely to turn to Luke Williams at third base, and Riley can be safely dropped in all redraft leagues.

Williams will take the place of Austin Riley on the active roster with Williams heading to the paternity list. He’s hit .220/.280/.287 in his 275 MLB plate appearances.

Williams is 1-for-10 in two stints with the Braves this season. The 27-year-old has hit .220/.280/.287 in 275 major league plate appearances since debuting in 2021.

The 29-year-old outfielder hopes to be able to return to action on Saturday. Luke Williams will draw a rare start in left field in his place on Friday night and will bat ninth against Martin Perez and the Pirates.

Williams will take the roster spot of Brian Anderson, as Anderson was placed on the injured list with a bacterial infection. Williams will likely serve as a bench option in this go around with Atlanta, with maybe an occasional start against left-handed pitching.