Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves Top 3 Spring Training Performers So Far

2.  Pedro Florimón (SS)

Going into Spring Training I know all of us predicted this, right? Surely all of us knew of this guy and could recite his career numbers and teams that he has played for? Well, if you truly did and could, then my hats off to you!

This is Pedro Florimón’s first Spring Training with the Atlanta Braves, as he spent time with the Phillies, Pirates, Twins, and Orioles; the latter being the team that signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2004 as a non-drafted (international) Free Agent.

The 32-year-old has been in the Major Leagues for eight seasons now, and is a career .211 hitter with 12 home runs, sporting a cool .588 OPS. Add it all up and you have a shortstop who has accumulated a 1.3 fWAR in his time playing in the Show.

This Spring has been a great one for Florimón, though. The 32-year-old has been one of the most productive hitters for the Braves so far. Fortunately for him, Manager Brian Snitker hasn’t been afraid to give him plenty of playing time, and rightfully so. Here are Florimón’s numbers so far:

• 6 games
• 13 at-bats
• .385 batting average
• 2 home runs
• 1 double
• 3 RBI
• 3 strikeouts

The Braves could always use some more valuable position-players in the upper Minors, as that specific group is actually pretty bare. Florimón has predominantly been a shortstop, but he has played 16 games in both the outfield and at third base. Not to mention a handful of games at third base.

It’s still early, but if he can keep it up, there could be a chance that Florimón turns into a potential Four-A player for the Braves or maybe even a backup infielder for the Major League team.

With Johan Camargo presumably set to get plenty of at-bats in his new role, and of course Charlie Culberson will be tasked with utility-like responsibilities, Florimón could fit right in as another bench piece, especially if he were to out-hit Adam Duvall this Spring.

[update:  Duvall hit 2 of the Braves’ home runs on Sunday, so he’s now hitting… .182 ]

But no need to get too excited, as it has just been 13 at-bats from the man. Let’s just enjoy what he’s been doing so far at the plate, and take it for what it is.

Either way, it’s still nice to see a player sort of come out of nowhere and perform well – even if it’s just Spring Training. But keep an eye on Pedro Florimón the rest of this Spring, because as we expected, he’s one of the best player on the team right now, right?