Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on IF Johan Camargo

Scouting Report

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Size/Build

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.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

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.