Atlanta Braves: Young position players to watch for in September
After looking at some of the pitchers that could possibly make their debuts for the Atlanta Braves in the final month of the 2016 season, we take a quick look at some of the position prospects who could also be knocking on the door in September.
It is unlikely that even most Atlanta Braves executives will argue that the team we have watched this year has more than two and at maximum three position players that the organization considers to be long term solutions at their current positions.
While the team is currently trotting out one of the youngest starting rotations in the majors at the moment, many of our position players are much closer to the end of their career than they are the beginning. Below are some of the position prospects in the Braves system who could end up in Atlanta before the 2016 ends.
Rio Ruiz, 3B, AAA
At just 22, Ruiz is the youngest position player at Gwinnett by at least 2 years. After a poor 2015, the Braves asked him to recommit himself to a fitness program and he has responded to this by posting a .268 average and .353 OBP so far after they aggressively promoted him to AAA this year.
He also happens to play third base, a position that the Braves have really struggled to fill with any consistency over the past couple of years.
Considering his numbers have been decent but not exactly lights out and his age, it might be best if he’s left to finish out the year in AAA and then brought into Atlanta for spring training but the Atlanta Braves were very aggressive with his development when they started him at Gwinnett this year. Don’t be surprised if he ends up getting called up in September as they challenge him to see how he responds to major league pitching.
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Dansby Swanson, SS, AA
The #1 ranked prospect in the braves system and a top 10 ranked player across the board, Swanson was the #1 pick in the 2015 draft and the crown jewel in the trade that sent Shelby Miller to Arizona. He’s had a decent season with the bat, hitting .266 but he’s also posted a strong OBP of .421 and solid power hitting 7 home runs. His defense has drawn rave reviews too and scouts continue to rave about his intangibles and his leadership which is why he is so often compared to Derek Jeter.
The Braves recently moved Ozzie Albies down to AA so that he and Swanson could play more together and the belief is that this will lead to a joint promotion for both of them straight to Atlanta in September. If the Braves are going to do this, it would really help if Swanson could show better consistency with the bat and hit over .300 for the month of August. A lot of scouts view him as the future face of the franchise and so the front office will likely be careful not to promote him unless he is absolutely ready.
Ozzie Albies, 2B, AA
The second part of the braves future infield partnership, Albies has shown in two separate stints in AA this season that even though he’s still only 19, that he’s ready for the next step when it comes to hitting.
His average at Mississippi this year is a very healthy .369 and he’d getting on base at just over 50% of his at bats which is pretty incredible. Despite being 3 years younger than Swanson, he’d arguably further ahead when it comes to his approach at the plate which is impressive but he was moved from Shortstop to 2nd due to Swanson’s leadership and defensive upside.
At only 5″9 and 160 lbs, Albies profiles as a lead-off hitter with a very low power grade but his hit skills and speed mean that he’s a real monster on the bases and he’d absolutely someone fans should be excited about seeing soon.
He was moved back to AAA at the end of June so that he and Dansby could play together so it is highly likely they will be brought up to the bigs together so it’s unlikely he will be promoted to Atlanta until both he and Swanson are considered to be ready. It’s highly likely we see both make their debuts in September for a few games before fully taking their place in the starting lineup in early 2017.
Dustin Peterson, OF, AA
The younger brother of Jace and one of the pieces acquired by the braves in the Justin Upton trade, Peterson has been really impressive so far during his stint in Mississippi. After starting off 2015 hot in high A Carolina, he like several other prospects saw his season take a tumble after a bus crash in mid May and his form never recovered. The Atlanta Braves aggressively started him out in Mississippi this year and after a slow start, he seems to really have taken a big step forward since June.
He’d posting a .293 average for the year and has hit 8 HR’s and although he doesn’t profile as someone with real power potential, he certainly has more than a lot of the options currently in Atlanta.
He’s more likely to see AAA than the majors this year but the lack of young talent in Gwinnett means that he could be another young player brought up to the big league squad in September when rosters expand. Still just 21 years old, if he doesn’t make the jump his year, he’s very much likely to appear in Atlanta at some point in 2017.
Next: Atlanta Falcons: 2016 Training Camp Preview
After looking at pitchers as well last week, Atlanta Braves fans should be able to start seeing some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to their teams rebuild. If this first generation of talent isn’t quite ready this year, we can still expect to see them in 2017 and the good news is that it will be only one of multiple waves coming through in the next 3 – 5 years. While it doesn’t mean they are suddenly going to win 80 games next year, fingers crossed they should be at least a bit more watchable!