Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on SS Dansby Swanson

The Atlanta Braves saw SS Dansby Swanson make a big splash in his big league debut in 2016. What’s in store for 2017 and beyond?

Player Profile

The Atlanta Braves acquired Swanson in trade before the 2016 season from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Swanson was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of the 2012 draft out of high school in Marietta, Georgia, but he instead chose to attend Vanderbilt University.

After a storied career with Vanderbilt that included a College World Series title, Swanson was selected as the #1 overall selection in the 2015 draft by the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks sent Swanson to their short-season A-ball team in the Northwest League, where he showed that the leap past two rookie leagues was not beyond him at all, hitting .289/.394/.482 with a 14/14 BB/K ratio over 22 games.

Swanson received plenty of notice over the offseason in prospect lists, ranking as the #17 prospect in the game by Baseball America, #8 by MLB.com, and #27 by Baseball Prospectus.

After a very exciting spring training where he and fellow infield prospect Ozzie Albies worked together frequently to tantalize fans, Swanson was assigned to high-A Carolina, but he was not a Mudcat for long, moving to AA after just 93 plate appearances and a .967 OPS.

With AA Mississippi, Swanson worked through two prolonged slumps at the plate, but he never let it show on the field, bringing consistent effort throughout. Even then, he still posted a .342 OBP and was among the minor league leaders in doubles when he was called up to the major leagues.

In the minor leagues, he totaled .275/.362/.426 between the two levels with 9 home runs and 13 steals along with a 50/84 BB/K ratio over 470 plate appearances.

Swanson then played 38 games with Atlanta, hitting .302/.361/.442 with 3 home runs and 3 steals, posting a 13/34 BB/K ratio over 145 plate appearances.

Next: Swanson's scouting report