Jurickson Profar Suspended 80 Games | Fantasy Baseball Impact for Braves, Stuart Fairchild, Bryan De La Cruz and More

It's been a rough start to the season for the Atlanta Braves.

Not only does the team sit at 0-5 heading into April, but Atlanta now will be without outfielder Jurickson Profar for an extended period. He was suspended for 80 games.

Let's look at how the suspension affects the fantasy values of several Atlanta hitters, including Profar.

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Profar's Stats and Fantasy Impact

Profar was signed by Atlanta this offseason after a big season in 2024 with San Diego.

In 158 games last year, Profar had a .280 average, .380 on-base percentage, 24 homers, 85 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and 94 runs scored. He walked 76 times and struck out on just 101 occasions.

He was expected to hit atop the Braves' lineup this season, but now will miss about half of the season. Outside of keeper/dynasty leagues, Profar can be dropped in a lot of fantasy setups.

He can be safely dropped for the team's next 70 or so games. As he nears a return to the field, Profar can be added again in those leagues.

Profar can be dropped in a bunch of deeper leagues as well. In really deep leagues, the outfielder should be held onto, but only if your team can afford to stash him on the end of the bench.

If you are able to slide Profar into an IR spot while he's suspended, then I'd go that route. His numbers last year were great, and he could be a big fantasy addition for your team in the second half of the season.

Other Braves Impacted

This will have a bigger impact in real life than it will in the fantasy world.

With Profar out of action for a while, Michael Harris II looks like the best bet to lead off for Atlanta. He's already owned in just about every fantasy league, and will get a little fantasy boost if he indeed is batting leadoff consistently.

Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies are likely going to slot into the 2-5 spots in the lineup for the Braves, in some order.

All four of those guys are also already owned in every fantasy league. Not having Profar hitting in front of them might be a minor setback for their fantasy values, but Harris can produce just as well in his absence. 

I wouldn't be too worried about Riley, Olson, Ozuna and Albies not living up to preseason draft hype. In fact, I'd check in on those hitters in trade talks, to see if maybe they'd be moved for cheaper with Profar now out of the picture.

Drake Baldwin should be the everyday catcher - he's filling in for the injured Sean Murphy. He will have more opportunities to drive in runs batting behind the stacked top of the order, so he's a waiver wire hitter to keep tabs on in case he gets going at any time.

Orlando Arcia is likely the everyday starter at shortstop, and going to be hitting ninth most days. He has moments during the season where he has some fantasy value in standard leagues, but he'll be a better deep-league asset all year.

Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic are the other outfielders who should start often with Profar out. Kelenic is likely to be in a platoon with Eli White, although Ronald Acuna Jr. will eventually return to likely erase the platoon (or take over in De La Cruz's spot). 

Stuart Fairchild was just acquired from the Reds, and could replace White in the platoon, or maybe even steal De La Cruz's starting role with strong hitting. Alex Verdugo is another MLB veteran outfielder who could get playing time with Profar out - he was signed this March, so he likely needs more time in the minors before he gets called up.

While Acuna is owned in all fantasy leagues already, De La Cruz, Kelenic, White, Fairchild and Verdugo are barely owned in any leagues. Those are the waiver wire guys you really need to keep an eye on.

I personally think they all will top out as deep-league options, but you just never know how a player might play with consistent starts and playing time.

Final Thoughts

The suspension for Profar is a massive blow to an already reeling Braves' team.

From a fantasy perspective, it might not impact a ton, given that Atlanta already has a bunch of daily fantasy starters/stars. Others, like De La Cruz, Fairchild, White, Verdugo and Kelenic could get more playing time, but they are just deep-league options at the moment.

Keep following along with our daily waiver wire hitting stories to see if any Braves' hitters step up in the absence of Profar.