The Braves will promote top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson tomorrow, according to a team announcement. President of baseball operations John Hart says that the youngster will be in the starting lineup tomorrow, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
Swansons promotion comes on the heels of the team’s trade of shortstop Erick Aybar to the Tigers. That deal brought in a prospect and also opened a spot for Swanson to receive his first taste of the majors. For the time being, at least, he won’t be accompanied by hopeful future double-play partner Ozzie Albies.
Mid-season top-prospect lists all agreed that Swanson is one of the ten best pre-MLB assets in baseball. MLB.com (#5), Baseball America (#7), and Baseball Prospectus (#10) all concurred in that regard.
Regardless of his precise placement, Swanson looks to be a key future piece for the rebuilding Braves, who acquired him — along with outfielder Ender Inciarte and righty Aaron Blair — in an offseason swap for righty Shelby Miller. That trade seemed like a score at the time and has further tilted in Atlanta’s favor as Miller has struggled. Still, it remains to be seen how the trio of quality assets will perform for the Braves — though they have plenty of seasons to come to provide value.
[Related: Updated Braves Depth Chart]
Swanson was always seen as the headliner of that deal. The number one overall pick of the 2015 draft out of Vanderbilt, he came to Atlanta with expectations of both a swift rise and strong future value. Both he and Albies are shortstops by trade, though it seems the latter will likely end up playing second when both reach the majors.
Though he has moved as quickly through the system as had been forecasted, Swanson hasn’t dominated the minor league ranks to the extent of Alex Bregman of the Astros — another SEC shortstop who was taken one pick behind Swanson but beat him to the majors. Swanson made short work of the High-A level, but owns a solid but not overwhelming .261/.342/.402 slash in his 377 plate appearances thus far at Double-A.
Still, the Braves felt that Swanson was ready to skip the highest level of the minors altogether. And prospect watchers seem to agree with the optimism, grading him as an above-average future big leaguer in virtually all aspects of the game. An advanced approach, good pop, some base stealing ability, and a sure glove with good physical tools give Swanson a full arsenal with which to work. Though he isn’t a true standout in any area, he comes with both a solid floor and the ceiling of a perennially above-average regular.
By making the move now, the Braves will allow Swanson to accumulate 47 days of service time. Assuming he is able to play well enough to lock down the starting job at short for the 2017 campaign — which is surely the club’s hope — then he’d first reach arbitration eligibility in advance of the 2020 season while qualifying for free agency after 2022.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This will be fun to watch
Interesting to see him called up so early.
Seriously. Not sure what the rush is but they’re the ones making the calls.
Why not? They have no chance at the playoffs so they just want him to have a taste of the majors and see what he can do.
There are plenty of reasons to not promote him at this juncture. Saying “why not” without taking his well being as perhaps the most valuable asset to your franchise into account is extremely short sighted. For one he may not be as seasoned/polished after performing adequately but not dominating AA and skipping AAA all together. Another argument for not calling him up is the useless service time he’ll accrue at the end of the season that will potentially allow him to reach FA sooner. While, yes, a cup of coffee COULD be beneficial, why rush him to the majors without making sure he checks all the developmental boxes first? Are they in contention? Does the 1-2 wins he MIGHT provide make a big difference for your record this season? AA pitching and major league pitching are VASTLY different. Further, there are many more examples of a prospect flaming out (Buxton, who has much greater tools mind you) from being rushed, than success stories. Bottom line the Braves are sacrificing both cost savings when they are going to be successful (starting 2-3 years down the road most likely) as well as putting their most prized prospect at a higher risk of failure, so the casual fan can watch a young shortstop for 40 some odd games on a team destined for a bottom three record regardless. An extremely short sighted venture if you ask me. Hope that answers your question of “why not?”
That is just hyperbole with your “short sighted” comment. Ever heard of Brian McCann? Brian didn’t hit all that well in the minors either, but all he did once he was promoted by the Braves (skipping AAA as well by the way) was to become a seven years straight all-star. I am not saying that that will happen to Dansby, but it could. So yeah “why not”?
The 2005 Braves were in a pennant race and had terrible options at catcher. Johnny Estrada was the best of the bunch and he had a .670 OPS. When the Braves called McCann up in June, he immediately was the best offensive option behind the plate and helped Atlanta win the division. There was plenty of reason to bring him up even if it meant starting his arb clock early..
The 2016 Braves have literally the worst record in baseball – with just a quarter of the season left, they could put 1991 Cal Ripken at short and it still wouldn’t help turn the team around. The best scenario at this point is that Swanson shows up, plays well, and the Braves still lose 95 games. That’s not worth letting Swanson hit free agency one year sooner.
It’s your opinion that the Braves won’t be competitive for another 2-3 years.. Personally I feel different, and so does this organization. We’ve added Kemp. we’ll likely pick up a catcher this offseason and likely some bullpen arms. Swanson and Albies will be filling up the middle. Our starters are already in the system and ready as well. You may see them add 1 veteran to fill a spot to complement Teheran, Folty, Wisler, and Jenkins.. And I’m not talking about a Bud Norris. They have the money so it will probably be a more quality veteran, not one they’re taking a flier on hoping to flip mid-season.
There aren’t any more positions to really fill. This is the team of the future, it is here. What changes between now and 2 or 3 years do you exactly see? All of these guys will still be slotted in the lineup if you wait 2 years. Whether you think it will be good or not is simply a matter of opinion.
There’s really no point in delaying the team you planned to build when you essentially have all the pieces.
Braves are 7-7 since adding Kemp. And that’s been without Teheran, Swanson, Albies, Mallex, Vizcaino, Shae Simmons, a FA catcher they sign in the offseason.
Like I said we’re all free to have our opinions here but I really don’t see why this team can’t be competitive in 2017. still. Keep in mind a lot of the damage done even to this team was done by Fredi Gonzalez. He sunk them so deep early on (10-30) they look worse than they are.
Obviously they’re not a winning team this year even without him, but 34-45 (since he’s been fired) is very different from 10-30.
The Braves hole from losing team to competitive isn’t as insurmountable as everyone seems to perceive it to be..
Matt Kemp isn’t some huge addition. He’s negative or roughly even. That pitching staff and the pitchers in the minors have tons of questions marks. Many with command, one of the hardest things for young pitchers to improve upon.
They a bad, bad team. They will not be good anytime soon. And they will only be good going forward if albies and swanson work out and the young arms take some steps forward.
If the braves front office seriously thinks they can be competitive soon, you should be really, really worried.
You keep repeating this. You don’t know crap about the Braves farm system or when they’ll be competitive. Get over yourself.
It looks like they are rushing him to him the bigs, I hope he doesn’t turn into Mike Zunino but Swanson won’t have the stress of calling pitches.
Service clock for one. I am all for September call ups, but for a team not contending, just doesn’t make sense to me. But I understand, please the fans.
Get him MLB ABs now in preparation for 2017 – just another step in development. If we expect him to produce in 2017 (at least more than an Aybar-type), he needs to see MLB action now and not in 2017. Not everyone is Corey Seager.
Swanson hasn’t even adapted to AA pitching his K-Rate is at 18.8% a large jump from A ball. He’ll end up with a K-rate rivaling Javier Baez’s first season.
Stupid stupid stupid.
Lose a year of control of your best prospect because you’re so bad you need to give your fans a reason to come to the park.
Team control comments always crack me up. If the player ends up being as good as you expect them to then you’re going to end up signing them to a long-term deal well before arbitration and free agency so why would you be worried about losing a team of control? It makes the team control comments silly.
Also Swanson isn’t hitting great at Double-A but it’s not like he’s doing terrible either. The Braves are dead serious about trying to contend next year as shown with the Kemp trade and now calling up Swanson. We’ll see even more moves during the offseason that shows how much they want to win in 2017. Swanson is going to be a big part of that so go ahead and call him up and let him get accustomed to the majors.
team control is a huge issue. Why do you think the Cubs waited to call up Bryant last year? And if a player ends up being a star, he’s not signing any extension unless it’s a huge deal, and who’s to say the braves can do that? no guarentee
The Braves do get some benefit in being one of the teams that don’t try to delay clocks. They’ve always promoted players early. Probably not enough to counteract the trade value or the value an extra year gives, but the players really appreciate it and that does have some hidden value
This just isn’t true. There’s no guarantee the team will be able to re-sign the player.
The value of team control isn’t just about the extra year. It’s also about the team friendly cost they have, and what the team can do when re-allocating that extra money.
They are essentially giving up a year of prime Dansby Swanson to give the unprepared slightly rushed version of Dansby Swanson a chance to get his feet wet and sell tickets.
The money they save is negligible. It’s not enough to worry about. The extra year is what it’s all about and the Braves want Dansby there when they open the new stadium so calling him up now is the right choice.
Not the correct choice, unless you buy into their ability to compete next year, but it’s what fits in with their plan
They believe they can compete next year which I agree with so it’s the right call. Everyone saying this move is stupid has already written the braves off in 2017.
It really comes down to a matter of opinion, which is fine, but it’s not really a dumb move from the perspective of those who think this team has the pieces in place to compete.
This whole post has no logic. None.
But why rush a prospect who wasn’t doing that good at AA and completely skipped AAA. If they waited until the earliest of after the first month of 2017, you get both an extra year on Arb and doesn’t have to go through super 2s.
You’re just going by stats. Swanson’s ABs and field presence show that he is ready. He was a College World Series MVP in the best conference in college baseball and put up solid, not incredible numbers in his first pro season. ATL gets his age 22-28 years, if things hold up. Like Jeter, Swanson needs games to get experience and now he has it. Welcome to the show, Swans.
Jeter played 150+ games in triple A, what are you even talking about.
Why burn the service clock when you aren’t going to contend for at least 2 years? Yeah burn his service clock now so they suck again sooner. Not like him and Albies are going to make this team a contender overnight. The team still has no pitching, lots of prospects but nothing that has stuck thus far. I’ll be surprised at the way the Braves are doing things if they’ll be good by 2019. I just don’t see them spending big on free agents that can actually help. I foresee another Upton fiasco coming, Get athletic guys with high ceilings but also astronomically low floors. Matt Kemp is a perfect example already except he’ll be hurt enough that he’ll only be a payroll issue and rarely occupy a roster spot.
Dude…..you really have no vision when it comes to what John H and John C are trying to do with The Braves!
I suspect that after the hoopla dies this week with Swanson (letting him get his ‘week or so in the sun’ (as well as allowing him time to get acclimated to The Majors)…I suspect that Albies will be promoted soon to The Majors (either before Sept 1st IF a trade can be swung for Beckham…OR…by Sept 1 when the rosters can be expanded). However, he is only 19 years old…so there’s a chance The Braves may wait until Spring Training of next year to give him a shot to make the Big League Roster. However my gut tells me that it makes more sense for The Braves to promote him shortly after Swanson gets ‘settled’ at The Bigs!
I also see Rio Ruiz getting promoted come Sept 1st. The Braves would like to see Ruiz, Swanson and Albies play some Big League Games together (with Freddie Freeman their 1st baseman). It would be a great way to give all three some playing time together….in games that are Big League Level but “meaningless’ (while I would love to see all three eventually excel…..more importantly, I’d love to see them learn how to make adjustments to struggling…..meaning that they struggle enough to ENSURE that we get The #1 pick in The Draft).
Getting #1 pick in The Draft…would really expand our options going into The 2017 Draft. If there is truly a Chipper, Griffey, Harper type out there who is a franchise player type of lock…then it would be a NO BRAINER to take him. However, the increased signing bonus money allotment for having The #1 Pick….would give The Braves all kinds of flexibility (even more so than what we had in The June 2016 Draft a few months back..where we absolutely NAILED The Draft. One more draft like that (or even better than what we did, if that is possible, lol)…and our Minor Leagues would be set FOR YEARS when it comes to building our roster/making possible trades that address needs).
The next six weeks will go A LONG WAYS to ensuring that we are HELLA COMPETITIVE in 2017. I’d MUCH RATHER see us go HELLA YOUNG by promoting Albies and Ruiz to join Swanson for The Month of September (allowing the three of them to get acclimated to The Bigs in a no pressure situation…..while ensuring that we get The #1 Pick in 2017). I’ll feel MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE with having an infield of Ruiz, Swanson AND Albies to start 2017…IF all three played together in September of 2016.
Yeah, your going to end up locking them up like the Os have locked up machado and the nats have locked up harper, the marlins and Fernandez…oh wait.
Yeah, because it’s not like the Braves managed to lock up Freeman, Teheran, Kimbrel, and Simmons to favorable contracts. Good call, as usual. The only one they didn’t lock up was Heyward and as it turns he wasn’t worth it anyways. I mean congrats to your little cubbies for looking stupid for signing him. I still look forward to watching them flop in playoffs.
Correct me if I’m wrong but do the Braves lose a year of control by bringing him up now as opposed to next Spring? To avoid super-2 status wouldn’t they have to wait until next June or something? Don’t see him not making the team out of Spring training next year since they have no better options.
yes
remember all the stink surrounding Bryant last season?
The Cubs left him down for 2 weeks to gain an extra year of him at rock bottom prices
If the Braves leave Swanson on the roster the rest of the season, they’d have to wait until June to bring him up next year if they want him under control through 2023
and that’s kind of a big deal, because the cheaper he is, the more money the Braves have to build the rest of the team around him
Extra year is nice, but that’s just not how the Braves run their business
So they wait until June to bring him up. Give him a taste of the majors now, have the ML coaching staff work with him, then give him a 1/2 season or so at AAA. Not a big deal.
You’re wrong. There, corrected.
A little late there with your smartass remark, huh?
Better late than wrong, that’s what I always say.
Guess it’s good that no one cares about what you have to say then.
If he succeeds now then great. If not have him start the year in the minors and gain the year back by leaving him through June…
Agree with mgraub. Stupid move. He is not even dominating AA pitching and lost year of control and hurting his development at the same time. Just plain stupid
You have no point. Who says you have to dominate AA to be ready? Byron Buxton, come on down! That year of control is important in starting his development at the major league level. Why can’t you understand that they want him to learn on the job now to have him seasoned to contend sooner than later? If he’s going to have his rookie moments, why not get that out of the way so he can just play and get some experience. Guy has been a pure baseball player all of this life, and that’s what he needs to continue to do at a high level.
Hey guys! Lets take our best prospect who hasn’t produced that much at AA and never appeared at AAA!
Doesn’t make sense to me.
Well it’s a good thing you aren’t making the decision! Did I match your sarcasm sufficiently?
Beyond your unnecessarily sarcastic response, you didn’t provide a reason why it’s a good move to call him up. Service time considerations should’ve probably kept him down until next year
Get him 6 weeks of MLB experience to prepare him for 2017. He is replacing Aybar, who for much of the first 2 months was the least valuable payer in MLB, and hasn’t been much better. Service time aside, which Coppy has always stated wouldn’t factor in), what makes you think for long-term development it’s better to leave him in the minors where he already shows above-average plate discipline. He’s ready.
Well, his plate discipline dipped when he was promoted from A+ to AA, as would be expected, so I’d expect him to struggle immensely this year. Whether he’s better than Aybar is irrelevant IMO since this season’s lost. I have no problem letting him learn at the MLB level, since his plus makeup should allow him to make it through those initial adjustments.
For me, it comes down to not seeing any realistic way for the Braves to compete next year, so I would’ve held him until next May or so and then let him learn in a lost year next year (extra year of control then, even if you let him qualify for Super 2). If the Braves’ front office truly buys them being competitive next year (originally thought that was just lip service for the fans), I guess this makes sense, but I just don’t see it. I think they have a much better chance at bring competitive in 2023 than next year, so I wouldn’t have put service time aside
Bravesmatt you should wish Brixton was making the decision
You people think these guys have to demolish the minors to be any good and that just isn’t true at all. Does anybody anymore remember something called development? That and there is always an adjustment when you reach a new level which suppresses numbers. Bregmen for instance struggled in his first few weeks in the Majors. The last two weeks he’s started to figure it out and it’s showing. People that only look at numbers will go, “Bregman sucked last year, I guess that means he isn’t any good.” when in actuality you just looked at the numbers and not the player. You didn’t account for the adjustment period. People who want players to dominate immediately need get a grip, because it’s not realistic.
So much truth to this. Braves are doing the right thing if they want to give themselves a chance to be good in 2017.
I expect Albies will be up in September when rosters expand.
How exactly are they gonna go from worst team in baseball to being good in 2017? Please, I’d love to hear this plan.
He isn’t being rushed if he was he would of been up already excited to see the kid play
Hes played like 84 games at AA. He isn’t ready
That’s cool! I didn’t know you were a scout or a part of the braves organization! Welcome!
That’s cool! He hasn’t played half a season in the high minors, but the Braves are so bad, he’d have to be one of their best players!
I just have to chuckle because your talking about making a bad decision when your profile pic is of a player who looks to be the worst contract in baseball, as it stands now.
He’s a Phillies fan I think, so I doubt that contract matters much to him. Why he took a picture of Stanton as a Phillie fan, I’m not quite sure though lol
Like we know that.
He is not ready. I agree with Brixton
I thought he was ready, but your statement has swayed me. I’m with you, One Fan. He’s not ready!!! Who cares he was College World Series MVP and this will be his first pro season! You can’t learn in the majors! The Braves are playing for a playoff spot and can’t afford to lose! Their fans don’t want to see him play! Keep him down so his service time clock doesn’t start because the Braves won’t have the funds available to sign him to a long-term deal (like Freeman, Teheran, Kimbrel before him, Dan Uggla before him). Promoting someone after 8-8 games is unfathomable!
A non-dominant half-season at AA and skipping over AAA altogether is a textbook example of “rushed”.
You don’t need to dominate anything. Players are developed people. Most don’t come in and mash everything. Machado was having a season like this in AA, came up around this time, and was GREAT. He proved the next year that he had not fully developed but now he has done so at the Major League level.
Sorry mgraub but swanson is no Machado!
Manny Machado was 2.5 years younger in AA than Swanson is now and was performing better..
Why not bring fans in the stadium
Pleasing the fans is a distant third to Coppy behind winning trades and being a badass.
I’m not a braves fan, but I really would’ve like to see them wait till next year with the new stadium and all.
Im sure he’ll still have the new car smell.
Couldn’t hurt to give Swanson a taste of life in the show.
Actually dlevin it really could hurt
Hurt so good
I hope he does well, but I don’t understand the rush to promote Swanson. I do think that Swanson will be a solid major leaguer (although perhaps not right away) but I think Albies has more upside than he does.
He’s ready. Either let Aybar or d’Arnaud steal ABs or let Swanson do what he’s been doing at AA and get ABs.
Yep, a 22.5 yr old college hitter from the SEC putting up an 18.8 k% and 116 wRC+ just screams ready.
Braves fans like you deserve the terrible product you get to watch.
Cubs fans like you deserve the inevitable flop that is coming from the little cubbies.
I really don’t get the negative drama of promoting Swanson. He is very seasoned and indeed is ready. He was heavily scouted by the Braves in Jacksonville this past weekend, so it’s not like they don’t have an idea that he may or may not be ready. They aren’t flying blind here!
It’s a very classy move in my opinion. You now have 6 weeks to determine your outlook on Shortstop for 2017. You’ll understand firsthand how he adjusts to the majors. On top of that, it’s a big weekend at turner field…why not add more excitement?
It’s the perfect move to make in this situation.
Yes! Someone with common sense!
Yep, all of this
And it isn’t set in stone that he makes the ML next year either.
Dansby Swanson is not being rushed. There’s more to baseball than just the numbers. You have no idea how he’s swinging the bat. Could be he’s hitting into bad luck. I don’t know. I haven’t been watching his games at Mississippi. The Braves wouldn’t make this move right now if they didn’t think he was ready for it.
Numbers are important though, and he isn’t putting up great numbers at the 2nd highest level and hasn’t played at the high level of the minors.
Berrios, Bregman, Urias, Buxton all dominated to a certain extent in the minors and look at their small sample sizes. Yes, they’re all different, but Swanson is a disciplined hitter with SEC experience and just needs to see consistent time in the majors. This idea that you’re ever ready is silly.
Yes! Someone with common sense!
Don’t want to “rush”him up now but if he won the opening job next year then there wouldn’t be an issue?
If he hit good pitching in ST, no there wouldn’t. He hasn’t hit high minors pitching
There are plenty of players throughout history who haven’t played a game at AAA how have gone on to have great MLB careers whether right away or in the long run. Stop acting like you know everything.
How many of them had a 116 wRC+ in AA?
Yes! Been looking forward to this all season. It’ll be fun to watch him grow with all the vets around!
Brian McCann never played a day at AAA and that worked out well for the Braves. Swansby also has all the experience playing in college, so this isn’t rushing him up at all.
Will be good to let him get some experience going into next season.
Exactly. And to add to your point, Brian McCann also never hit in the minors like he did in the majors. Some guys do better in the majors than they ever do in the minors so it would not be a stretch of the imagination for Swanson to do the same thing.
Can’t wait to see this guy’s talent on display
Is he ready?? Moncada is putting up numbers more electric than him.
It is a popular thought that you’re ready by AA.
Braves have not been a team that cares about team control clock. They have done this before in the past and have promoted people without reaching AAA.
Would only be perfect if they were playing the Dbacks. More salt in the wound
You know they do go to Arizona for a series next Monday.
Didn’t know… Maybe he gets his first start on Monday
He is starting tomorrow.
Got my tickets!
There are risks involved rushing hitters to the Major leagues. Seeing quality starters and bullpen pieces on a daily basis is a lot to contend with. With that being said; it is much easier to push a drafted college player through the minors than a player drafted out of high school. Just ask the Twins about Buxton.
Pirates GM consistently mentions how he regrets rushing Pedro Alvarez through the minors. He’s a good example of rushing a hitter who then never properly develops.
Swanson had more discipline at the plate at 16 than Alvarez has now. He has not shown anything hinting that he could not handle the majors.
I hate to be the downer but I am just not too convinced that Dansby Swanson will turn into the superstar that people think he might become. I forget who but someone compared him to Jeter which is silly. He has a good glove and a decent bat but has he really shown that he has that kind of potential? Idk I’ll probably get hate for this too but he just seems like a very high floor player with a limited ceiling. And I’m not saying he’s gonna be a bad player either I just think that he won’t live up to some people’s unrealistic expectations
Agreed, although that floor makes him extremely appealing. I think he’ll eventually become a Brandon Crawford type, as an elite defensive player with a solid approach at the plate and some decent power. That would make him very reliable day in and day out, but not at the level of one of the best shortstops of all time
He is replacing Aybar, I think we will take “not at the level of one of the best shortstops of all time”.
I believe they meant he has tools like Jeter. I don’t think anyone expects him to be a super star, just maybe a player without flaws.
I am hoping for like an Omar Visquel type career.
The argument that he hasn’t played a game in AAA is at best silly. It’s been fairly common for advanced prospects to skip AAA since the level of competition isn’t much better.
Swanson has gone through streaks where he has absolutely dominated AA pitching. And his glovework has been pretty outstanding to watch. He’s had a few ugly stretches too. But the Braves might feel that working more closely with Seitzer is what could bridge that final gap.
Too early to really say he’s being rushed. You can make the argument that they’re losing a year of control, but the Braves haven’t really been that kind of team so you should expect it. The only thing that surprises me is that they’re taking him away from a good team in the final games of the season. It looked like they were trying to build a winning mentality with having a lot of their future at one level right now, so the Dansby promotion happening now is a bit odd.
Jose Altuve never played a game at the AAA level; he’s only leading the league in BA, OBP, and Hits. Now i’m not saying Swanson will do the same (except for Braves fans and FO) but it really doesn’t matter at this point in the season. Service time is irrelevant at this time and the Braves have nothing to play for so why not. It’ll put some butts in the seats and hopefully be a good story. Maybe something to poke fun at Dave Stewart and Larussa.
Service time aside, why not give him a small look at MLB players going into 2017 in a cup of coffee? That way he knows what to expect. He’s been lapsing in judgment recently at AA, and I’d think the train of thought is that they’re trying to prevent him stalling, as he’s shown that he already can handle advanced baseball knowledge at AA. You don’t need to have elite minor league numbers in order to earn a promotion. Braves team is like a AAA team, including their manager being their AAA manager for 20+ years (Brian Snitker). Heck, AAA’s attendance isn’t too far behind Atlanta’s average game attendance.
It’d be foolish to think the Braves aren’t aware of the service time implications in bringing him up this early. They clearly decided getting him a look at the major league level this year was beneficial to both his and the organization’s future. He’s not the type of prospect that will wilt under the pressure psychologically, from everything I’ve read about him. If he performs poorly, they can just send him back down, and possibly bring in a veteran stop-gap for next season. His makeup/character/being a Georgia native that grew up rooting for the Braves was most likely also a factor in the decision to forego an extra year of team control. He’s also not represented by Scott Boras, like Kris Bryant is. Doing right by a player builds good-will when it comes to contract negotiations, which is why guys like Teheran and Freeman signed extensions relatively quickly. We’ll see how it all turns out. Hopefully Albies isn’t too far behind, but since he’s only 19, and doesn’t have the high-pressure college experience that Swanson has, I could see the Braves letting him marinate a bit longer.
Albies at this point might not be as ready defensively (he actually didn’t do great in AAA earlier with throwing particularly) but I think Albies is at least as ‘ready’ as Swanson if not more so. with the bat. The situation is different though in the fact that the Braves have no good options for shortstop at all at the major league level that rival Swanson’s expected production now. Combine that with the desire by the Braves to drum up excitement for the final month and for next season, then I can easily see WHY they promoted Swanson (whether I agree fully with their decisions is another thing). With Albies expected to play secondbase there isn’t as much need at the position right now with Jace Peterson playing decent (although Peterson certainly won’t keep Albies on the bench with the Braves decide it is time)., so second isn’t the black hole that ss had become. Who knows perhaps the braves watch the service time clock more with Albies than they are apparently with Swanson. They may see Swanson as an above average major league shortstop in 3 years and see Albies as an all-star in the same 3 years? Only time will tell.
Also consider that with 6 years of control, Braves will get ages 22-28 with all things considered. Albies, if promoted now, would be ages 19-25 (before his prime years). He just switched to 2B a few months ago, while also being aggressively promoted to AAA (then back to AA for time with Swanson). That’s a lot of changes for a 19-year old’s development, but Albies has shown he can handle a lot already.
Yes, RunDMC, I agree about the timeline of the years controlled. Even though I didn’t specifically state that, it was one of the reasons why I felt that the Braves may watch Albies service time more closer. I expect that it is highly probable the Braves think that Albies is definitely a player they desire strongly to hold on to for as long as possible. The kid has definitely showed remarkable ability (minus power) across the board. I wouldn’t be surprised if they wait until May or June of 2017 before promoting him. We will probably get a better glimpse in September of their plans based on whether they promote him or not then.
I see him offensively being like Dustin Pedroia “The Lazer Show”. 15-20 HRs hitting low .300’s
I may be wrong here. But, I would think that there is not a huge difference between AA and AAA considering that a lot of AAA rosters have struggling former MLBers and players on rehab assignments. So the whole argument about skipping AAA being a dumb move doesn’t really hold a bunch of weight for me. Plus I trust the Braves’ scouts. Except for whoever decided t was a good idea to sign BJ Upton lol.
There is not a huge difference between AA and AAA. There is a popular thought that once you reach AA, you’re ready for the majors. AAA is an extension of the development, and certainly important, but not necessary for all players.
The biggest difference between AA and AAA in my opinion is the presence of so many more guys who have experienced pro ball longer. They make the adjustments, they deal with issues better in most cases. A player (like Swanson) whom their team feels confident can deal with making adjustments and can handle adversity are normally the type that can skip AAA more readily.
I’m not one to think that Swanson will have great difficulty in the big leagues (although I certainly think he is just as likely to hit .220 as .280 this year). I just would rather they’d had waited until next season before promoting him for service time reasons. With that said I think this is a signal that Atlanta is going to do what it feels will make it a better team in 2017. IF that is true then the fans that are desiring to see a better team (even if they will likely find it VERY difficult to even finish .500) should be satisfied more.
With guys like Swanson and Albies (at some point) there should be more excitement at least among the fans.
It’s not Swans, it’s Lt. Dan! Welcome to the majors Lt. Dan!
It is arrant nonsense to suggest a young rookie must show at AAA before coming to the Majors. John Olerud, and also Mike Leake never played any minor league ball before coming to the Majors, Edwin Diaz went straight from AA to Major League and look at him. People that say a player must progress through the grades before coming to the show obviously have never played at any level. Swanson may hit a buck fifty, no one knows, however he wouldn’t be promoted if those in the organization didn’t think he had the tools and the ability to succeed, irrespective of what he does in the remainder of the season. Giving a player like this a taste at the highest level no matter what he ends up hitting can never be detrimental. I love a move like this, as it creates interest in the sport and it has people talking..
Well me personally I would have waited til next year. But sometimes you need to have your feet to the fire in order to get better. So in 3 years we will be able to see if this was a good move or not but let’s cheer him on and hope he gets better and the Braves get better in 2017.
This promotion is a painful reminder of one of the most lopsided trades to occur this past winter. The D-Backs gave up Ender Inciarte, who had the #9 batting average last year and the #4 Defensive WAR, our top prospect Dansby Swanson, who has the potential to become a superstar one day, and one of our top pitching prospects Aaron Blair, who is now in the majors albeit struggling. All that for a pitcher that is doing horrible this year (2-7, a 7.14 ERA, and a 1.745 WHIP) warranting a demotion to AAA and a pitching prospect that might have some upside (Gabe Speier), but isn’t even ranked in the top 30 for the D-Backs prospect list. All in all we gave a budding superstar for a failing once All-Star.
Everything went wrong for the D-Backs this year: Zack Greinke didn’t live up to expectations (4.13 ERA compared to last year’s 1.66 ERA), Shelby Miller flopped, AJ Pollock had a season ending injury, David Peralta had a season ending injury, Patrick Corbin has pitched poorly (5.49 ERA) and has subsequently been moved to the bullpen, Rubby De La Rosa got injured, and Chris Owings was on the DL for 6 weeks. These factors have had dastardly effects on the team that was once thought of as a contender for the NL West title. The D-Backs have the worst ERA in the league with a terrible 5.09 average, and also are ranked 29th in hits against per 9 and 29th in walks pitched per 9. However our hitting hasn’t been too bad. We are ranked 9th for BA, 5th for hits per game, and 14th for runs. Therefore if the pitching squad improves to meet expectations and Pollock and Peralta return (which they will) we can definitely contend in 2017.