Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Johan Camargo (76) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Johan Camargo (76) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
The Atlanta Braves surprised a number of people when they chose to protect Johan Camargo from the Rule 5 Draft this winter.
Player Profile
The Atlanta Braves signed Camargo out of Panama in the 2010 July 2nd international free agent class.
Johan Valentin (Ramos) Camargo made his professional debut in 2012 in the Dominican Summer League after getting injured and missing all of 2011. He hit .343/.433/.455 in 59 games in the DSL with 2 home runs and 6 stolen bases, posting a 10.37% walk rate and an 11.2% strikeout rate.
Camargo got jumped over the Gulf Coast League straight to advanced rookie Danville in the Appalachian League. He continued to hit well, posting a .294/.359/.360 slash line with no home runs, 3 stolen bases, a 7.03% walk rate, and a 12.11% strikeout rate.
He opened the 2014 season with low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League, and after a solid year, he earned a late season promotion to high-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League.
Combined between the two, he hit .266/.313/.326 with one home run and 7 stolen bases, posting a 6.48% walk rate and 11.67% strikeout rate.
Camargo spent the entire 2015 season with high-A Carolina in the Carolina League. He hit .258/.315/.335 with a home run and 4 stolen bases, posting a 6.68% walk rate and 12.03% strikeout rate.
After the season, the Braves sent Camargo to the Arizona Fall League to work around the infield, knowing that they loved his defense but that they had big-time prospects that would pass him by eventually.
Camargo hit .206/.265/.222 in the AFL with a 7.24% walk rate and 8.7% strikeout rate. He did flash the leather well at third base, however, giving the Braves confidence in his ability to move around the infield.
He did just that in 2016 with AA Mississippi, playing 64 games at second base, 29 games at third base, and 32 games at shortstop on the season. He posted a .267/.304/.379 line with 4 home runs and a steal, with a 4.89% walk rate and 16.7% strikeout rate.
He saved his best work for the playoffs with Mississippi, hitting .333/.333/.444 over 7 games with no walks and a strikeout in 27 at bats.
Camargo is listed at 6′ and 160 pounds. He is long and lean in his build, possibly even an inch or two taller and perhaps 10-15 pounds more, but not tremendously much more than 175ish pounds.
Hitting
Contact (50) – Camargo is a switch hitter, and he has a very contact-oriented approach from both sides of the plate, looking to put the ball in play over taking walks for sure.
Due to his focus on contact, frequently Camargo ends up hitting the ball on a less-than-desirable part of the bat, meaning the ball does not get the carry he could get if he had a better contact skill and power ability.
Power (35) – While Camargo can show some gap power, he’ll likely never be a guy to tally more than a handful of home runs. His power contributions will most likely be through doubles and triples, and even those will likely be fairly rare.
Eye (45) – While Camargo does not strike out a ton, he does expand the zone in his at bats looking to make contact, so often he’ll end up getting run up on a pitch that he swung at outside of the zone.
Keeping his strikeout rate fairly low will help keep his bat valuable in the lineup, but improving his zone recognition and, thus, his walk rate could take him from a utility guy to a possible future starter.
Base Running/Fielding
Speed (50) – While Camargo can range well on defense, much of that is due to instincts, not his raw speed. He’s certainly not a high-end base stealer, having success on just 56.76% of his attempts in the minors to this point in his career.
However, Camargo does have long legs for his frame, and when he gets them going, he can really hit another gear, as evidenced by his 21 triples in roughly 2,000 minor league plate appearances.
Defense (60) – Camargo is a very natural defender with exceptional instincts throughout the infield. He’s shown smooth actions both at short and second base, and his instincts at third were very natural in his time there as well.
Arm (60) – Camargo has a very good arm, though he has been known to get a bit off in accuracy with his throws. I still put a plus grade on it after watching him work at third using his arm strength in a new position in 2016, but he still had some accuracy issues at second as well.
MLB Player Comp
While their defensive skills are at a different level today, when Eduardo Escobar came up, he was known for his defensive skills, and he and Camargo profile very similarly.
Escobar has played around the field in his career, playing 290 games at short, 49 games at second, 101 games at third, and 43 games in the outfield, most of them in left field.
Escobar hasn’t hit free agency yet, but in his second season of arbitration, Escobar will make $2.6M in 2017 to be a utility infielder, which tells you the value teams put into that role, so Camargo’s skill set is certainly valued.
Camargo will likely open with AAA Gwinnett this season, but with an excellent performance, he could push his way into the Atlanta bench picture sooner rather than later.
