Atlanta Braves outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and shortstop Orlando Arcia will both start on the bench for Sunday's series finale against the hosting Tampa Bay Rays. Eli White is starting in left field and will bat ninth, while Nick Allen is at shortstop and in the eight-hole against Rays right-handed spot starter Joe Boyle. De La Cruz has seen more playing time with Jurickson Profar suspended, but he hasn't taken advantage of it so far, going 8-for-37 (.216) with no home runs, a run scored and a stolen base. The 28-year-old went 0-for-7 with a steal and five strikeouts in the first two games of the series against the Rays. Arcia is quickly losing the starting gig at shortstop to Allen, as he's been on the bench for three of the last four games. He's gone just 5-for-24 early on with an RBI and a run scored. Neither White nor Allen have faced Boyle in their careers.

Atlanta Braves infielder Nick Allen will retreat to the bench for Sunday's series finale at Truist Park against the division-rival Miami Marlins, with Orlando Arcia starting at shortstop and batting eighth against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara. Allen made four straight starts at the 6 for Atlanta, going 4-for-14 with a double, RBI, two stolen bases and a run scored. Meanwhile, Arcia has gone 2-for-13 with five strikeouts in his first four games of the 2025 season. Arcia was expected to be the team's starting shortstop, but it appears Allen is getting a legitimate shot to take over everyday duties in the early going. While he's hitting .400 with a 1.600 OPS with a homer and two RBI in five career at-bats versus Alcantara, it won't be an easy matchup and Arcia should be avoided in DFS lineups. It will be telling who the Braves go with on Tuesday for the start of a series against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia is not in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Miami Marlins at Truist Park. Nick Allen will instead make the start at the 6 and bat eighth against Marlins right-hander Max Meyer. Arcia started for the Braves in four of the first five games of the season but will now start on the bench on Friday for his third straight contest. The 30-year-old Venezuelan veteran has struggled at the plate, going 2-for-13 with no walks and five strikeouts in four games played, so the Braves will give Allen another chance. Allen has four hits (one double) in his first 11 plate appearances with an RBI and two stolen bases, but he's more of a defense-first player and should be considered a long shot for much production in DFS on Friday. Allen has never faced Meyer in his MLB career.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia will take a seat ahead of Friday's game against the San Diego Padres. Arcia got the starting nod on Opening Day, but will take a seat the next day. He went 1-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts, so not exactly a stellar performance. Arcia has some decent pop in his bat, but is probably only worth rostering in NL-only formats right now. Nick Allen will cover shortstop and bat eighth versus right-hander Dylan Cease on Friday. Fantasy managers can find a better streaming option than Allen for Friday's slate.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs and a walk in Friday's 7-2 win over the Phillies. Arcia has had a bit of a power surge in August, belting six of his 15 home runs this month. Arcia tends to be a bit streaky though and he was not hitting for average heading into this game, as he was just 10-for-60 (.167) in the two weeks prior to Friday's contest (17 games), so he can be frustrating for fantasy purposes. For the season, the 30-year-old has a .228-15-41-41-1 line with a .283 wOBA and 73 wRC+. Despite playing in a good lineup, there are better options at shortstop on the waiver wire in most leagues.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia played a big role in his team's 6-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday. Arcia went 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI to help power his team to the win. The 29-year-old's homer, a two-run shot, came in the fifth inning and gave the Braves a 5-1 lead at the time. After setting a career-high with 17 homers in 2023, Arcia is hitting .212 with seven homers, 27 runs, and 25 RBI over 311 at-bats this season.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (tooth) is returning to the team's starting lineup on Friday for the series opener against the visiting division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. Arcia missed the team's last three games due to an abscessed tooth, but it appears that he got the issue cleared up and is feeling good enough to play to start the weekend. His return will push Zack Short back to the bench for the Braves. The 29-year-old Arcia hasn't really even helped fantasy managers in NL-only leagues all that much in 2024, as he's slashing a weak .211/.245/.337 with a .582 OPS, six home runs, 23 RBI and 24 runs scored in 285 at-bats. He'll be starting at shortstop on Friday and will hit in the eight-hole against Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola. Another reason to keep Arcia benched: He's hitting .150 with a .390 OPS with an RBI in 20 career at-bats against Nola.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (tooth) remains out of the team's starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting San Francisco Giants on the Fourth of July. It's the third straight game that Arcia has missed due to an abscessed tooth. He remains day-to-day, but it remains to be seen if he's feeling good enough to play in Friday's series opener against the visiting division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old Venezuelan infielder hasn't moved the needle in mixed fantasy leagues at all this year while residing at the bottom of Atlanta's lineup while hitting just .211 (60-for-285) with six homers, 23 RBI and 24 runs scored. Zack Short will make a third straight start at the 6 on Thursday and will bat ninth against Giants right-hander Logan Webb. Avoid Short in DFS lineups on the nation's birthday.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (tooth) is out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Wednesday against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Zack Short will make another start at shortstop and will bat in the nine-hole for the Braves against Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks. Arcia is getting an abscessed tooth taken care of and will miss another game this week. For now, consider the 29-year-old veteran infielder day-to-day and check back to see if he's back in the starting lineup on the Fourth of July on Thursday in the series finale against the Giants. Arcia has been a below-average hitter in 2024, slashing .211/.245/.337 with a .582 OPS, six homers and 23 RBI in 285 at-bats. Short has been even worse in just 61 at-bats and should be avoided for DFS purposes.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (tooth) is out of Tuesday's lineup against the visiting San Francisco Giants due to an abscessed tooth. After missing some time last week due to dizziness, Arcia will miss another game with an infected tooth. Fantasy managers in deep leagues should consider the 29-year-old to be day-to-day. If he gets his tooth fixed on Tuesday, he could be right back in the lineup on Wednesday. Arcia has been a below-average hitter in 2024, especially at the shortstop position. The Venezuelan infielder is batting just .211 (60-for-285) with a .582 OPS, six home runs, 23 RBI and 24 runs scored in 2024 while mostly hitting at the bottom of the batting order. Zack Short will take over for him at shortstop on Tuesday and will hit ninth against Giants rookie right-hander Hayden Birdsong, who will be making just his second big-league start.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (head) is back at shortstop and is batting ninth for Atlanta on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox and right-hander Chad Kuhl. Arcia will make his return for the Braves for the first time since being pulled from Monday's game early due to dizziness. The 29-year-old has been cleared to play after being evaluated, but DFS managers should be looking to avoid the light-hitting shortstop. The Venezuelan native has hit just .212 (58-for-274) this year as the starter at the 6 with six home runs, 22 RBI and 24 runs scored. In his last six games played, Arcia has a double in 19 at-bats with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (head) underwent several tests at a local hospital on Tuesday evening after feeling symptoms of dizziness, which caused him to leave Monday's game early. Fortunately, all of the tests came back clean, but the 29-year-old is set to miss a few games out of caution. Atlanta skipper Brian Snitker told the media that Arcia could have been dehydrated or could have gotten a viral infection, but there has yet to be an official diagnosis. Fantasy managers should continue to pay close attention to the Braves starting nine the next few days, as Arcia should be day-to-day going forward. While absent, Zack Short should receive a majority of the starts at shortstop and is worth a look in DFS this afternoon as he will bat ninth and will face Kyle Gibson in the first game of a doubleheader.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia was removed from Monday night's game versus the St. Louis Cardinals early as a precaution due to dizziness. Before leaving prematurely, Arcia was hitless in his two at-bats with one strikeout. He was replaced at shortstop by Zack Short. It's unclear exactly what Arcia is dealing with, but he should be considered day-to-day for now. There's a good chance that he'll be held out of the lineup for the second game of the series on Tuesday. The 29-year-old Venezuelan shortstop hasn't done much for fantasy managers this year while residing at the bottom of Atlanta's batting order regularly. He came into Monday's contest with a weak .213/.245/.346 slash line with six homers and 22 RBI in 272 at-bats. Short could jump into the starting role at the 6 if Arcia requires an injured-list stint.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia homered and doubled, both off Nick Pivetta, in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Red Sox. The home run was Arcia's third of the year while the double was his eleventh which tied him for fourth-most in baseball and just three behind the leader (Shohei Ohtani, 14). Arcia got off to a hot start, hitting .309 through April 27, but has since cooled off, going 5-for-32 (.156) over his last nine games. The 29-year-old is hitting .270 on the season with 13 RBI and 14 runs scored, but due to his ultra-low walk rate (3.0%), his OBP is just .291. Hopefully the two-hit day is the beginning of another hot streak for the 2023 All-Star.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia is getting a day off on Wednesday in the series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Luis Guillorme will handle shortstop duties in his absence and will hit ninth against White Sox opener Dominic Leone. Guillorme has never faced Leone in his career and should be avoided in DFS at the bottom of Atlanta's batting order. The 29-year-old Arcia was a first-time All-Start with the Braves last year and is off to another strong start in 2024 by going 9-for-20 (.450) with a league-high four doubles, two RBI, two runs scored and five strikeouts in 21 plate appearances over the first five games of the season. Expect Arcia to be back at the 6 on Friday for the start of a series at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's Grapefruit League action against the New York Yankees. Arcia now has four homers to go along with a healthy .286 batting average this spring. The 29-year-old has always had a great glove, but broke out offensively last season to make his first All-Star team. Arcia hit .264 with a career-high 17 homers and 65 RBI in 488 at-bats. It is always wise to draft players in strong offenses and Arcia fits that bill, but managers should not be surprised if there is a little regression out his bat in 2024. He is best served as infield depth in deeper formats.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia (left) was forced to exit early during Sunday's Grapefruit League contest against the Boston Red Sox. The 29-year-old was hit on the hand by a 96 mph pitch during Sunday's game. Luckily, it appears Arcia has avoided serious injury. The X-rays came back negative and Arcia is considered day-to-day with a left hand contusion. The expectation is that Arcia will sit out for a few days before rejoining the lineup. Fantasy managers should have Arcia back to full speed in time for Opening Day.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia is outside of the starting lineup for the matinee of Saturday's doubleheader against the New York Mets. Nicky Lopez takes over at short and bats ninth for Game 1. Arcia has been a revelation this year; the 2023 All-Star is slashing .297/.353/.467 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI, and 49 runs scored in 330 at-bats. Look for the 29-year-old to get back in there during the nightcap against southpaw Jose Quintana. Arcia is hitting .356 (21-for-59) with six homers, three doubles, and 10 RBI versus left-handed pitching this season.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, a stolen base, and an additional run scored in the club's 10-2 squashing of the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. The 28-year-old continues to add to his breakout season. Arcia is slashing a robust .396/.458/.547 with two homers and 12 RBI across his last 53 at-bats. The former Milwaukee Brewers burnout may spend most of his time in the lower-third of the lineup, but his fantastic .339/.398/.494 triple-slash line over 174 ABs overall is impossible to ignore. Arcia hasn't missed a beat since returning from a mid-April wrist fracture in early May. Some regression is possible, but fantasy managers who added the middle infielder in the early goings of the campaign should continue to hang on tight despite his unfavorable lineup placement.

In his return from the injured list on Sunday, Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in the team's 3-2 extra-inning victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles. It was Arcia's first game action since April 12 because he didn't go on a minor-league rehab assignment before he returned from the injured list. The 28-year-old should take over primary shortstop duties in Atlanta now that he's back and Vaughn Grissom is back in the minor leagues. Arcia is more useful for his glove on defense, but you also can't ignore the fact that he's hitting .327 (16-for-49) with three doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored in his first 14 games played in 2023.