House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves could have a big shortstop decision this Winter

By Alan Carpenter

TORONTO, ON - JUNE 20: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides into second base with a double ahead of the throw to Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre on June 20, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 20: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides into second base with a double ahead of the throw to Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre on June 20, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA. – MAY 19: Dansby Swanson #7 and Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves embrace before the game against the Miami Marlins at SunTrust Field on May 19, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA. – MAY 19: Dansby Swanson #7 and Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves embrace before the game against the Miami Marlins at SunTrust Field on May 19, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Profiles

Internally, the Braves will have 3 options for the left side of the infield:

CAMARGO.  We know what Camargo can do.  I feel comfortable in suggesting that in any scenario, he is involved as a daily player.

As the 2018 season unfolded, the theory was that Camargo was going to eventually become the Ben Zobrist-esque uber-utility guy.  But as he’s posting a .795 OPS (despite hitting “only” .264), it’s reasonable to think that the Braves might wish to leverage this talent on a daily basis.

SWANSON.  This is tricky.  Aside from a momentary lapse on Thursday, Dansby Swanson was been excellent at shortstop this year.  But his hitting is still… off a bit.

There may be several reasons for this:  a lingering wrist issue?  Just needing more reps?

Swanson is 24½ now and could be following a timelime similar to that of another shortstop we know of:  Andrelton Simmons.  During his age 24 season (2014), Simmons hit .244 for the Braves.  Swanson is now at .241.  Both have/had been OPS’ing in the mid-600 range.

Simmons figured things out at the plate in 2016.  His average jumped to .281 and OPS to .690.  This season he’s hitting .301 with .779 OPS.

I think Swanson has that kind of transformation in him, but the question I have is this:  can the Braves wait long enough for that to happen?  Or better yet, can they guess that it will happen at all?

RILEY.  Here’s the real Wild Card question, though: will Riley hit at the major league level (this is where the scouts really need to be accurate)?

  • AA Mississippi:  .900 OPS in 2017 (48 games); 1.071 OPS in 2018 (27 games)
  • AAA Gwinnett:  .766 OPS in 2018 (58 games – lost time to injury)
  • Strikeout rates:  24.6%, 27.3%, 25.7%, 28.6% (every stop at AA or higher)
  • Power numbers:  2016:  20HR/39 2B; 2017: 20HR/19 2B; 2018: 12HR/27 2B

Defensively, the reports are good.  But can he be thrust into a contender’s lineup every day and produce immediately?  That’s the question I have.

These are the internal options available.  Now let’s look at how the parts might be arranged.

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