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Andrelton Simmons Showing Progress at the Plate During August

By Jonathan Savitske

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Andrelton Simmons has long been evaluated as a defense first shortstop, with his offense taking a backseat to his defensive wizardry on the infield for the Atlanta Braves.

Throughout the horrible month of August for the Atlanta Braves, who have only won 8 games the entire month, Andrelton Simmons has seemed to turn the corner at the plate, providing one of the few bright spots in a season that has taking a turn for the worse.

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On the year, Andrelton Simmons is batting .265 with 3 home-runs and 34 RBI’s. While these are not fantastic numbers, Simmons has never been known for his bat. In order to truly become one of the best all-around shortstops in the game though, Andrelton must find a way to re-capture some of the power he possessed during the 2013 season where he hit 17 homers and had 59 RBI’s, as well as hitting at a higher clip at the plate.

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    • This month has seen Andrelton Simmons make significant progress offensively, as the 25-year-old shortstop from Curacao has batted .317 with an .800 OPS. This is a stark contrast to the month of July, where Simmons batted a lowly .205.

    One of the biggest obstacles for Andrelton Simmons to overcome to truly become a consistent hitter is a lack of plate discipline. Though he does not strike out often, Simmons also does not walk, choosing to consistently put the ball in play. While this is not a bad strategy to employ — especially on this Braves team that emphasizes contact — Andrelton Simmons is not patient at plate, diminishing his chance of seeing a better pitch to hit or accruing more walks to get on base.

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    While the 2013 season where he hit 17 homers is most likely an outlier, there is reason to believe that Andrelton Simmons possesses the ability to become a better hitter than what he has displayed throughout the majority of his first four seasons in the big leagues. If Simmons can hit in the .280 to .290 range, while hitting 15 home-runs and approximately 60 RBI’s every season, he will undoubtedly become the best two-way shortstop in the league.

    This season has been difficult for fans of the Atlanta Braves, as the team has plummeted in the standings the past month, losing 12 of their last 13 games. Despite the disappointment of this lost season and the contempt some of us may have against the team and coaching staff, it is good to see some progress being made on this team; especially with Andrelton Simmons. Hopefully, his recent success at the plate is sustainable over the course of the remainder of this season, as well as 2016.

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