Atlanta Braves: Dansby Swanson’s Slow Start a Concern?
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Braves expect Dansby Swanson to be the shortstop of the future but should fans be concerned that he has had such a slow start?
The Atlanta Braves pulled off one of the best trades of the last decade when they sent Shelby Miller to Arizona in exchange for three players that are now a part of the Braves future. The biggest piece in that trade was shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Swanson is expected to be the shortstop of the future for the Braves and started the season on the Braves roster hitting second behind Freddie Freeman. The early favorite for rookie of the year has done anything but look like a good Major League player struggling to put the ball in play and resulting in a lot of weak contact.
He is hitting .139 on the season with over seventy at-bats already. While it may be a bit concerning for some fans it is very early in his career and not time to hit the panic button just yet. Swanson made a big jump the Majors last year and is still going to need a bit of time to adjust to Major League pitching.
Swanson is going to be a very good Major League player as soon as he catches up. Unless your Mike Trout adjusting to seeing a different Major League pitcher every day takes time to adjust to and Swanson needs to be given that time and fans will have to be patient while the shortstop figures it out.
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Swanson has all the tools and is only lacking the Major League mental game to catch up to his physical skills. Swanson is the shortstop of the future for the Braves and is going to turn into a very good Major League player sooner rather than later. Fans will need to remain patient a couple of months longer and give Swanson time to figure it out, if he is still hitting .139 a few months into the season then it will be time to hit the panic button.