Atlanta Braves Prospects: Braden Shewmake Scouting Report

Projections and Timetable

If you couldn’t tell by my assessment, I’m not too high on Shewmake right now. At the moment, he profiles as a utility bench player who could hit .240 with 10-15 home runs.

I don’t see him as an everyday player at this point.

However, even at 24, and as long as it seems like he’s been around, I think there is room left for growth in his game.

He still needs to bulk up to 210 or 215 to see if that can crank up his power potential — not just home runs, but more doubles as well.

As mentioned, I’d love to see him change where his hands start and stand more upright like Corey Seager.

If he can do those things, I think his ceiling once again becomes an everyday player who can start all over the infield, hit .280 with 20-plus home runs, reach 15-plus stolen bases, and be a .780 OPS player.

At this point, I don’t see any reason to promote him to Triple-A. Let him start out 2022 back at Double-A until he proves he can hit at that level.

Hopefully, he does make the proper adjustments and the Braves can promote him to Gwinnett by mid-season, setting him up to make his debut sometime in 2023.

For those thinking he’s going to replace Dansby Swanson as the everyday shortstop in 2023, I just can’t see that happening. Shewmake still has a lot to prove at the minor league level before he earns that opportunity.