Atlanta Braves: Is Dansby Swanson an All-Star?
Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is in the middle of his breakout season, but is it enough to get him selected to the All-Star Game?
When he was drafted as the number one overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2015 MLB Draft, the expectation was that Dansby Swanson would be a quick mover throughout the Diamondbacks system and be an MLB player as soon as 2016.
Even when he, along with Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair, were traded to the Atlanta Braves in December of 2015, it was still thought Swanson would be in Atlanta later in 2016, early 2017 at the latest.
Sure enough, Swanson debuted on August 17th in 2016 and since then, he has been a lightning rod for scrutiny; not living up to the expectations of being the top overall pick.
Throughout his nearly three years in the big leagues, Swanson has been a model of inconsistency.
He had a slash line of .302/.361/.442 in his month and a half of games in 2016, which left most excited about his future in Atlanta, but he regressed to a .232/.312/.324 line in 2017.
While his defense took off last season, the offense still lagged behind to a certain degree.
Swanson did hit 14 home runs and drove in 59 runs, but struggled to cut down the strikeouts (122) and did not walk much (44). As it turns out, there was a reason for the regressed output.
During last offseason, Swanson had surgery to clean out floating cartilage in his left wrist and the hope was a clean bill of health would go along way in getting Swanson’s offense up to his defense.
It was actually the combination of good health, plus visiting with Chipper Jones that has led to Swanson being one of the Braves best offensive players this season.
As of Friday, Swanson was second on the Braves in home runs (13), first in RBIs (43) and third in OPS (.818).
The homers and OPS rank second third among NL shortstops, while he is tied for first in RBIs.
He is doing the majority of his damage batting second, as he sits between Ronald Acuna and Freddie Freeman.
Now the question, as unthinkable as it might have been a year ago, is can Swanson be an All-Star?
Let’s take a look at the competition.
The Competition
Unfortunately for Swanson, the list of shortstop candidates in the National League is longer than perhaps any other positional player.
Typically two to three players are selected from each position, so that makes the shortstop race in the Senior Circuit highly competitive.
The following are the candidates (in no particular order) most worthy for selection. Please feel free to mention in the comments anybody I may have forgotten.
Jean Segura, Phillies
The power numbers aren’t quite there for Segura, as he has hit just five home runs and driven in 24 runs.
But his average is .292 and he plays a solid shortstop in the field, which has made him nearly a one-win player through the first two plus months of the season.
Javier Baez, Cubs
With 15 homers and 40 runs driven in, Baez will likely be the starter for the NL squad come early July.
He also carries a slash line of .307/.349/.577 and is already worth nearly three wins, according to Baseball Reference.
Paul DeJong, Cardinals
As one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, it was impossible to not include DeJong, who has also been solid at the plate.
He has nine home runs and 28 RBI, while possessing a slash line of .275/.372/.482 and a WAR of 2.6.
Nick Ahmed, Diamondbacks
This is kind of a reach, but much like DeJong, Ahmed is a prolific defensive player (already with a Gold Glove and worth well over one win based on defense alone) and his offense is getting better.
Even though there are not much power numbers to speak of (four homers), Ahmed does have a slash line of .264/.321/.405… close to that of Swanson’s, save for his .498 SLG.
Corey Seager, Dodgers
The once upon a time phenom, has put together a solid season for the Dodgers, after missing most of last year because of an arm injury.
He has eight home runs and 34 RBIs, while batting .253, with a 1.8 WAR.
Trevor Story, Rockies
If Baez is not the starter, then Story will likely be, as he too has exploded offensively through the season’s first two months.
He has hit 15 homers and driven in 43, but also has been pretty good in the field, as he is already worth one win on defense alone.
Summary and Prediction
Barring injury, Baez and Story are locks to be representing the National League next month.
It seems likely a third shortstop will be selected due to the depth and quality at the position, but it’s going to be difficult to get Swanson in this mix.
The Braves are set up to have three guaranteed participants in Freddie Freeman, Mike Soroka and Ronald Acuna.
And unless something crazy happens where the Braves lose eight in a row or 10 of 12 in the next few weeks, then they are most likely going to be one of the NL’s best teams when the reserves are selected on June 30th.
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It is difficult to imagine the Braves getting only three players onto the team and it is also difficult to imagine anybody else making it, unless Austin Riley somehow makes it.
It could come down to Swanson and DeJong, but Swanson leads his team in RBIs, while currently batting second in the order.
He is turned himself into a viable offensive threat in a very deep lineup.
There is plenty of time between now and the reserves being selected, but at this point, I think Dansby Swanson could be an All-Star; perhaps at least as an injury-replacement selection.
The player that at one time fans wanted to jettison should be at least be keeping his calendar clear for July 9th.
Next. Breaking down the Draft: Rounds 24-30. dark
If it happens, it is difficult to imagine another player to be happier for after his last couple of seasons.