Atlanta Braves: Sending Dansby Swanson to the Minors is Pointless
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson has recently been demoted to a part-time only starting shortstop. Moving Swanson to a part time starter has fueled the rumors that Swanson could be sent down.
If the Atlanta Braves send down Dansby Swanson it would be a pointless move considering how deep into the season the Braves are. Swanson is underachieving at the plate there is no arguing that. Going in last night’s match-up against the Cubs Swanson was hitting .220 and has struggled on defense as well.
Dansby Swanson set himself up for failure in some ways thriving at the plate at the end of last season and for a kid who was playing college ball in 2015 the game was going to catch up with him. That is exactly what has happened with a season to study him Major League pitchers have found how to pitch Swanson using a slider in particular to expose the young hitter.
Fans who were excited for Swanson have quickly turned sour clamoring for Swanson to be sent down and calling the first year starter a “bust”. While it is understandable to be disappointed it would be unhelpful to send Swanson down both for his sake and for the team long term.
Swanson is the shortstop of the future and he will need to gain the Major League confidence that he is lacking as well as pitch recognition. Both tools that he needs to work on are things that will only improve at the Major League level. Sending Swanson down for him to thrive and come back to struggle again could be more harmful than for him to find a way to get past his struggles while playing a role for the Major League team.
Riding the hot hand as it were at shortstop is the right move for now considering that Swanson needs to show something at this point to continue to be the starter. With plenty of competition the Braves and the fans should learn plenty about Dansby Swanson over the next few weeks.