Atlanta Braves Prospects: Braden Shewmake Scouting Report

We continue our series of scouting reports on the Atlanta Braves top prospects by looking at one of the top infield prospects in the system. 

The Atlanta Braves had one of the best infields in all of baseball — if not the best — in 2021 with Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley.

Riley and Ozzie will be around for a while, and hopefully, they can keep Swanson and Freeman intact too as there isn’t much behind them at the minor league level.

Braden Shewmake is considered by many to be — by far — the best infield prospect in the Braves system right now. And definitely, the one that is the closest to making an impact at the big-league level.

There may be some others on the rise in a few years like Vaugh Grissom and Ambioris Tavarez, but the truth is, the Braves lack a lot of infield depth at the upper levels.

That puts even more pressure on Shewmake proving why he was worthy of a first-round pick in 2019 out of Texas A&M.

As someone who covers college baseball, and the SEC in particular, I can remember watching Shewmake as a freshman at Texas A&M when he slashed .328/.374/.529/.903 with 11 home runs and thinking he could be the top pick in a few years.

While the averages pretty much stayed the same, he never showed that much power in his final two college seasons.

The Braves were aggressive with him after the draft in 2019 starting him at Single-A where he slashed .318/.389/.473/.862 in 51 games. They then promoted him to Double-A, which has been a challenge for him.

In 97 games at Double-A, he’s slashing just .227/.273/.378/.652 with 12 home runs in 370 at-bats.

It was an up-and-down 2021 for Shewmake as he got off to a dreadful start (.099 in May), was hot in the middle (.357 in July), and then cooled off late (.184 in Sept.).

Shewmake — The Swing and Approach

At 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, I’ve always thought it looks like he’s throwing a lot of knees and elbows at you — meaning he needs more meat on those bones.

But also, he has a tendency to twist himself up and get out on his front foot. Not to be harsh, but it’s not the prettiest of left-handed swings.

It’s always worked for him because of his great hand-eye coordination. He’s typically able to get the bat on the ball.

However, after having a K% of around 10 in college, it was all the way up to 20 percent in 2021. That’s not too out of the ordinary as the jump to Double-A is the hardest a professional has to make.

But it is a bit concerning for someone whose biggest tool is the hit tool and his strikeout rate has doubled while his batting average has plummeted.

In the games I watched from 2021, I don’t get a great sense of his approach at the plate. All of his power is to the pull side, but he’ll also slap a single the other way.

Shewmake — Defense

He certainly has the size to stick at shortstop and many believe he has an above-average arm at shortstop — I think it’s more average.

His instincts are great though and I certainly can see him sticking at shortstop. But I see him moving around the infield playing second, short, and third.

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1163271662214819840?s=20

Shewmake — Comparisons

Coming out of the draft a lot of people rushed to compare him to a Ben Zobrist-type player who can play all over, hit for average, and provide solid power.

They are similar in size and their swings aren’t vastly different from the left side — Zobrist is a switch-hitter and is more closed off.

I certainly don’t want to give the impression that I think Shewmake will be this good, but the name that kept popping up in my mind for a comparison is Corey Seager.

Both 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting shortstops that have a swing that kind of twists them up.

Otherwise, very different swings as Seager starts more with his hands back, which I think Shewmake would benefit largely by doing.

But they both get that front foot down and twist on it for their pull power.

https://twitter.com/mbraves/status/1404179283996725255?s=20