Dansby dilemma: Braves believe top rookie will start hitting

Dansby Swanson scores on a triple by Emilio Bonifacio on Wednesday. Swanson had three walks and scored twice in that game against the Mets (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Dansby Swanson scores on a triple by Emilio Bonifacio on Wednesday. Swanson had three walks and scored twice in that game against the Mets (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)

Dansby Swanson was out of the Braves lineup Saturday, a day after the rookie shortstop went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to drop his batting average to .150 and his OPS to .445 — the lowest among 183 major league players with enough plate appearances to qualify.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said it had as much to do with getting Jace Peterson playing time to keep the utility player sharp as it did with Swanson. But there’s no denying that the struggles of the highly publicized hometown player — Swanson’s face was on billboards the day he arrived in the majors, and he’s been he focus of multiple Braves ad campaigns since the fall — have become the 800-pound gorilla in the room in recent weeks.

Braves officials and teammates all insist they aren’t concerned about the slump affecting the 23-year-old’s development, citing his maturity and talent.

“This game’s tough,” Braves veteran right fielder Nick Markakis said. “He didn’t really have that much time in the minor leagues, and he kind of got thrown in the fire last year, had some success, and he’s scuffling this year. It’s tough. My first month and a half in the big leagues I think I hit, like, .180.

“You’ve just got to have a good mindset, which he does. He has a good head on his shoulders. You go up to him right now, you wouldn’t be able to tell he’s struggling. He handles himself very well. It’s just a matter of time. Just keep him at the bottom of the order and let him work his way up.

“He’ll get things going. He’ll get an understanding of the game more and more — (pitchers) make an adjustment to him and he’s going to have to make adjustments back, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Swanson, a former Marietta High School and Vanderbilt University star, was called up from Double-A in August after playing only 127 games (529 plate appearances) in parts of two minor league seasons.

He moved into the starting shortstop job the day he arrived and thrived, batting .302 with a .361 OBP, 11 extra-base hits (three homers) and .803 OPS in 38 games last season. But his second season has been tough sledding for Swanson, who has 15 hits (three extra-base hits), 10 walks and 27 strikeouts in 111 plate appearances.

“You’d like to get at least 1,500 to 2,000 at-bats in the minor leagues, ideally,” said Snitker, a longtime player-development guy who managed many years in the Braves’ minor league system. “But he’s an advanced guy. He came in and did really good last year. Now it’s a new season, and he’s not surprising anybody. They have video on him and their pitching coaches are putting together attacks for him. And there’s a lot of expectations — along with the league — that he’s trying to balance, the outside things also. There’s a lot on that kid’s plate, and if anybody can handle it, he can.”

Markakis thinks all of the added attention on Swanson has made things only more difficult for the rookie.

“It’s a lot of pressure. I personally don’t like it when they do that to young guys,” Markakis said. “You put so much pressure on a young kid coming up in an environment that he hasn’t been in that long. It makes it tough. It makes him feel like that he needs to do way more than he should have to do. It’s tough to have the limelight on you all the time and scuffle. It’s not a good feeling.

“All of us have been in his situation (struggling), and all of us know what he’s going through. But I think for the most part he has a good head on his shoulders, he controls the situation pretty damn well, and he’s a great player. It’s just a matter of time. He’ll figure it out and you guys won’t be talking about this much longer.”

Saturday’s game notwithstanding, Swanson has shown some encouraging signs recently after working extra hours with Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, being more patient and getting back to relying more on his hands and less on his body when hitting, the way he did at Vanderbilt. In his past seven games he was a modest 4-for-20, but had a homer, three RBIs and a .393 OBP in that stretch, with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five).

For most of the first season’s first five weeks he ranked among Braves leaders in line-drive rates and had a batting-average-on-balls-in-play that indicated he wasn’t getting many breaks that might help him snap out of his funk.

“He he hasn’t gotten anything to show for some really good at-bats,” said Snitker, who batted Swanson second in the lineup in each of the Braves’ first 14 games before dropping him to eighth. “He’s hit some balls hard and nothing falls for him.”

Snitker said Swanson’s attitude and approach haven’t changed — important when team officials are considering how a situation might affect a player.

“He’s still getting after it and excited about getting in the lineup,” Snitker said. “I told him he was going to have a day off last week and I winded up giving Brandon (Phillips) off, and I walked in with (Swanson that day and he) was excited. Last weekend, saw some really good things. Then he’ll get long (in his swing) and probably using body too much, but that’s a young hitter.

“All in all, we’re all still there with him. Lot of positives. He doesn’t take it out with him on the field. I mean, he still can win you a game out there, too.”

Lest anyone wonder, every young (or veteran) player is not treated the same when he goes through an extended slump.

“Because of his talent, his ability, you do — you kind of (stick with) with those guys longer,” Snitker said. “Give him a break here and there, let his mind relax. And, too, on days off a lot of time you can do extra stuff, the hitting coach can get with him and spend a little extra time focused on that kind of stuff instead of preparing for the game.”