Braden Shewmake is a budding prospect in the Braves’ farm system because years earlier, he decided he didn’t want his bones crushed.
The Braves drafted Shewmake No. 21 overall out of Texas A&M in the 2019 draft. The infielder enters the season as the franchise’s No. 8 overall prospect, according to Baseball America, and he’s trending upward.
In fact, don’t be too surprised if Shewmake debuts as early as late this season. When minor-league baseball resumes in May, he’ll be back on the fast track. Shewmake ended the 2019 season in Double-A and spent last season at the Braves’ alternate training site in Gwinnett, where he made a strong impression. Shewmake is providing hope he’ll soon be a high-level utility player.
Shewmake played 51 games for Single-A Rome in 2019, hitting .318/.389/.473 with 18 doubles, three homers and 39 RBIs. He earned a promotion to Double-A, where he didn’t find as much success, hitting .217/.288/.217 without an extra-base hit in 14 games.
“That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Shewmake said. “Just playing a college season, playing in Rome and then going to play the last 14 games in (Double-A Mississippi). My body had never felt that bad before. Ever. But you have to figure out how to play when you don’t feel right. There are a lot of different things you have to figure out how to do. At that point in the season, nobody’s body feels right, so you’re not the only one. You have to push through that and do the best you can with what you have that day.”
Shewmake would’ve welcomed a similar challenge last season, but he was yet another minor-league player hurt by the minor-league season’s cancellation. He went from the fast track to a screeching halt.
“It was tough, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of uncertainty,” Shewmake said. “That’s how it was for everybody, though. We didn’t know if we were going to the alternate site, who was going, what we were going to do there. We had no idea what to even expect when we got there. It was a challenge, but there were a lot of good things that came out of it. It allowed myself and a few other guys that I know for sure to get back to what we were doing, feel good about what we’re doing and just keep moving forward.
“Just being completely off would’ve been the worst thing, I think, for me. I wanted to keep going. If you’re not doing anything for a whole year – there’s only so much you can do on your own. That’s just the fact of the matter. So when you have all the guys out there, live pitching going on and all that stuff, it makes it feel a little bit like baseball. Not 100 percent, but pretty close.”
Shewmake returned to live games this spring. He hasn’t done much with the Braves in camp, going just 2-for-17, but he’s shown his defense and athletic ability. His calling card will be just that as he matures into a major leaguer. That makes him a snug fit for the Braves, whose identity is largely built on defense and speed on the base paths.
The biggest question surrounding Shewmake is one that’s followed him since his teen years: weight. He’s emphasized adding to his frame since he’s joined the Braves. Shewmake ended last season around 185 pounds; he said he arrived at spring training weighing around 205 pounds. Adding weight is a “big deal,” Shewmake said, but he also doesn’t want to sacrifice any speed.
The weight conversation actually is what determined Shewmake’s baseball future. He was a three-sport athlete at Wylie East High School in Texas. His conversion to a full-time baseball player was a decision aided, if not determined, by his physical build.
“I knew I didn’t want to play basketball after high school,” he said. “I got to my senior year and I got done with football season and I was like, ‘I’m done with that. I’m going to go ahead and go play baseball.’ But with football, that was the most fun high-school sport I ever played, for sure. I loved it. It was a blast. But at the same time, I came out of high school weighing 168 pounds and I was getting crushed by guys in high school. I couldn’t imagine what it was going to look like in college. It was kind of a narrow-it-down, what are you not going to get crushed at (decision)?”
It worked out: Shewmake won SEC freshman of the year at Texas A&M. He was twice an All-SEC first teamer. He became a first-round pick. The experience in the SEC was invaluable, Shewmake said.
“What I told a lot of guys there is when you move up, when I went to Double-A, it’s like seeing everybody’s Friday night guys (aces), one after the other,” Shewmake said. “It’s like seeing everybody’s best guys in college one after the other. So you have to be ready to go. There’s no easy, ‘Hey, this guy’s not going to blow me up.’ Everybody can pitch. If they can’t throw 100 (mph), they can hit their spots, change speeds and move the ball around.”
The Braves believe there’s more to unlock with Shewmake. That starts with developing his power. Shewmake will be the first to tell you it’s his weaker point – “Home runs are accidents to me,” he said – but that doesn’t mean it’s a hopeless case. Baseball America projects he could be a 15-, 20-homer player in his prime if he continues getting stronger.
Shewmake fits the modern mold. He’s a plus-athlete. He’s praised for his character and work ethic (“He gets the most out of his physical abilities,” Baseball America wrote). He checks the boxes as a player destined for a lengthy major-league career.
“He came in this year and added some good weight,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Shewmake this spring. “The guys at the alternate site, all the minor-league guys really like this kid. I hadn’t seen a lot of him – he came over for one scrimmage game in July (2020) before we got going – but I like him. Just watching the workouts and all that, I think he has good instincts. He’s going to be a versatile player. It’s good to see he’s filling out and getting stronger.”
Shewmake will report to the alternate site when the season begins, where he’ll get ready for the minor-league campaign, which will make a delayed start. His spring audition is nearly concluded. He spent many mornings working with third-base coach and defensive guru Ron Washington. He’s picked fellow SEC-raised shortstop Dansby Swanson’s mind. He’s been in front of Snitker and the major leaguers for over a month, his greatest exposure to the “real thing” since being drafted.
Player development is a major unknown in every organization these days. It’s impossible to say right now how Shewmake will be viewed, and where he’ll be, by season’s end.
But don’t be surprised if Shewmake’s readiness and versatility could opens his path to the majors soon. And the thought of immediately joining a playoff race, be it this year, next or down the road, only further motivates Shewmake.
“It makes you take everything you do as serious as it gets,” he said. “You have to put yourself in those shoes that if you get up to the big leagues this year, you will be playing in games trying to get to the playoffs. Your team, you have the pitching staff for it, the guys who swing the bat around you. You’re going to be playing games trying to get to the playoffs. One step at a time, but you have to take everything seriously when you’re doing all your work.”
