Before Tuesday, the last time Mallex Smith played a position other than center field in a game that counted was in August 2014, when he was with the high Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm and the opponent was the Stockton Ports.
The rookie speedster was moved to left field Tuesday against Milwaukee, making his first major league start at a position other than center field. Braves interim manager Brian Snitker has seen enough of Ender Inciarte to know he wants Inciarte patrolling center field, and so it will be.
“And days when (Inciarte) doesn’t play, Mallex will play center,” Snitker said. “But I’m looking for the team now, for this team, and I think (Inciarte in center) makes us defensively a lot better.”
When the two are in the lineup together for the forseeable future, it’ll be Inciarte in center field and Smith in left, assuming right fielder Nick Markakis is in the lineup, as Markakis has been almost every game for two seasons with the Braves. (Snitker said there’s been no discussion of moving Markakis from right.)
All 28 of Smith’s major league starts in his first season had been in center field before Tuesday, when he was in left field and batting ninth behind the pitcher, as he has more often than not lately. But the left-field position is not foreign to Smith, who played some at both corner outfield positions this spring under manager Fredi Gonzalez.
“It’s not going to hurt him to experience that,” Snitker said. “It’s like the more I watch Ender…I’m just looking at our team right now, not down the road for the future or anything. I’m just looking at what’s here right now pretty much, and I think that’s going to be the best for our club right now. And it won’t hurt Mallex to go over there and play a little bit, experience it.
“Ender’s a really, really good center fielder. And I saw that in spring training and a few rehab games he had (with Triple-A Gwinnett when Snitker was manager). Ender’s a really good left fielder, a really good right fielder, a really good center fielder. I think for our club, that’s the best thing for this team right now.”
Gonzalez had decided to keep Smith in center when Inciarte returned from a five-week stint on the disabled list for a hamstring injury sustained in the third game of the season. Smith played well in center after being called up when Inciarte was DL’d, and Gonzalez opted to keep Smith in center and move Inciarte to left field in games when both were in the lineup – against right-handed pitchers and occasional lefties.
Snitker took over a week ago after Gonzalez was fired, and Snikter started Smith in four of six games he managed before Tuesday, with Inciarte in left in three of those four games, and Inciarte and Jeff Francoeur making two starts apiece with Smith in center. Inciarte was in center for the other two games.
But to start the 10-game homestand, Snitker made the decision to go with Inciarte as the primary center fielder. He said Smith would play center when Inciarte is out of the lineup to rest; Snitker will be mindful of Inciarte’s legs after hamstring injuries caused two DL stints of 4-5 weeks the past two seasons.
“He’s even better than I thought out there (in center),” Snitker said of Inciarte. “When I had him (at Gwinnett) we played a 10:30 a.m. game in his first rehab game, and the first ball hit was (deep to the right-center gap), and he’s on the run at 10:30. I told Fredi, there isn’t anything wrong with this guy. His legs are fine if he can do that at 10:30 in the morning….
“The 3-1 game in Pittsburgh, we don’t win if he’s not out there; he made two great catches. And the one win in Philadelphia, he made a couple of real nice running plays in that ballgame too. Mallex can outrun a lot of balls; Ender is just a bit more advanced right now, because he’s done it longer.”
Francoeur will continue to play left field against many or most lefties, as Smith has struggled quite a bit so far against major league lefties. Smith was 3-for-35 (.086) with a .135 on-base percentage and .278 OPS vs. lefties before Tuesday, compared to 28-for-83 (.337) with a .371 OBP and .949 OPS against righties.
Francoeur had a .327 average (16-for-49) and .851 OPS against lefties before Tuesday.
“Pick and choose with Mallex against lefties, run Frenchy out there to face (the other) lefties — that’s why he’s here,” Snitker said.
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