MIAMI – He still has a good ways to go just to raise his average to the Mendoza Line (.200), but Dansby Swanson has shown some encouraging signs recently since the Braves’ high-profile rookie adjusted his batting stance and worked on a more consistent approach.
Swanson had a two-out, two-strike RBI single Saturday that drove in the Braves’ second run in a 3-1 win against the Marlins, after collecting a single and walk in each of the previous three games.
“It was a big two-strike at-bat for an RBI, a tough pitch on a hit-and-run,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was a great at-bat by him. He’s getting there. I mean, he’s doing some things and he’s fine.”
Swanson entered Sunday’s series finale with a .169 average that still was the seventh-lowest among major league qualifiers and a .479 OPS that was the fifth-lowest. But he had raised both numbers significantly in the past few weeks, since his numbers cratered to a season-low .125 average and .341 OPS on April 21.
He reached base in 15 of 16 games since then before Sunday, totaling 12 hits and 11 walks for a .348 on-base percentage in that span.
“I think the biggest thing is just consistently good at-bats now,” Swanson said. “I feel real clear on what I’m trying to do at the plate and trying to execute as best as I can. You can’t control it after you hit it. You hit it and you can’t control what happens after that.”
In the first weeks of the season he had one of the highest line-drive rates on the team and a paltry batting average on balls in play – two signs of a player not getting many breaks to go his way.
“Definitely nice to see Dansby do that,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said of the rookie shortstop’s two-out RBI single Saturday. “He’s done an amazing job just with his confidence throughout this season (that’s been) full of remarkable bad luck. It’s impressive, just the professionalism and the maturity he’s shown throughout this season. So it’s nice to see him rewarded with something in the big situation.”
Swanson had another tough-luck at-bat in his first time up Sunday — a line-drive to left field in the second inning that Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna robbed of a hit with a running, shoe-string catch.
In his past eight games before Sunday, Swanson was 6-for-25 (.240) with four RBIs, seven walks and a .394 OBP. Not scintillating, but certainly a lot better than the first 15 games of the season.
“He’s going to hang in there and keep grinding and keep playing,” Snitker said. “He’s going to get better — for everything he’s been going through it’s going to do nothing but make him better.”
