Dansby Swanson was the first pick of the June draft less than three years ago, had his picture on billboards and other Braves advertising after just two months in the majors, and had a bobblehead doll featuring his famous “flow” (hair) in his first full season in the majors.
So while a year ago no one would’ve anticipated that 2018 spring training would be important for Swanson for anything other than getting in shape for the coming season, it is, in fact, an important time for the Braves shortstop after he struggled mightily for much of his 2017 rookie season.
“We kind of talked to him along that vein, that this is – it’s important for all these young guys,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said, conscious of not making it sound like Swanson wasn’t being singled out. “Because like I say, they don’t have a track record or a history or a baseball card that, you’re here to just get in shape. They’re here to perform. And they need to go about it like that.
“We talked to them all and have an idea of what we want to do (with the lineup and roster), but that can change, too. Because I think it’s important for these guys to take this camp and be very competitive and try to be as productive as they can also.”
Swanson, who turned 24 this month, was considered a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year at this time a year ago, the Marietta native and former Vanderbilt University All-American having impressed everyone in 2016 when he was called up in August and hit .302 with a .361 OBP, 11 extra-base hits (three homers) and an .803 OPS in 38 games in his first stint in the majors.
But last season, he slipped all the way to a .232 average, .312 OBP and .636 OPS in 144 games (551 plate appearances) and was sent to Triple-A in late July for two weeks, a demotion that would’ve lasted longer if replacement shortstop Johan Camargo hadn’t injured a knee.
After batting .213 with a .287 on-base percentage and .599 OPS in 95 games before he was sent down, Swanson played better initially upon returning from Triple-A, and hit .268 with a .360 OBP and .707 OPS in 29 games the rest of the season.
The Braves want to see him build on that this spring. Swanson is penciled in for the shortstop job and doesn’t have to win it this spring, but there are options should he struggle again this season, including Camargo and newcomer Charlie Culberson, a versatile veteran acquired from the Dodgers in a December trade.
Culberson played shortstop Saturday and had a triple against the Astros.
Swanson went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the Braves’ Grapefruit League opener Friday against the Mets and will start again Sunday against the Nationals after getting Saturday off. He wasn’t alone among players on both teams Friday who looked a bit behind facing pitchers in the first spring game.
“We’re always behind the pitchers, that’s how baseball is,” Swanson said. “That’s how it makes hitting so hard. It’s one of those things, you just want to develop your feel and get your rhythm. Once you start slowly but surely getting into the groove, there’s certain cues that you look for basically, and you start building off of those. And as camp goes along you want to hit your stride going into the season.”
As for his approach to spring training, he said, “For me personally, I think that each day is kind of an opportunity to grow and continue to develop yourself,” he said. “Just kind of become the player I think you need to be. Spring training, I’ve learned a lot the last couple of years about how to handle it all. Because starting out, you want to come in, like, super ready and hit the ground running Day 1, and it’s one of those things where you start to understand and learn that you don’t necessarily have to be in top, midseason form.
“I spent all winter getting ready for this, but it does take a couple of weeks to get back into that full routine. And so that’s kind of what it’s starting out as. I think everybody understands the importance of camp and that it’s a good time to be able to grow together. That can kind of get overlooked because you do have so many guys and so many younger people around, you really have a good time to be able to gel together because there’s so much time to spend together.
