Braves officials spent an hour on Friday discussing their options for center fielder Ender Inciarte's expected return from the 15-day disabled list this weekend.
Most of that talk centered on rookie Mallex Smith, who has been the primary center fielder during Inciarte’s absence. After a slow start to his big-league career Smith has shown improvement at the plate and in the field and all signs point to him sticking with the
“He has done great,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Here’s a guy that started slow and got himself (going). He’s a good major leaguer. We talked today, kicked around what’s bets for him, what’s best for us going forward. The plan will reveal itself (Saturday). The kid has made a case for himself.”
Since being called up on April 11 Smith has made a few defensive and base running blunders. He entered Friday hitting just .222 with a .290 on-base percentage.
But Smith also has provided evidence for why he’s rated as the organization’s top outfield prospect and made strides during the team’s recently-completed seven-game trip. Smith started five of those games and went 8-for-19 (.421) with three doubles and his first home run. He had two stolen bases on four attempts and showed good range and anticipation while playing center field.
Smith, 23, has been groomed for center field since the Padres drafted him in 2012. He played there for 321 of 334 minor-league games played in the field.
Inciarte, 23, is one of the best young outfielders in the majors. He’s said he much prefers to play center field but he also played 84 games in left and 78 in right over the past two seasons with the Diamondbacks. He hit .292 with a .329 on-base percentage in 250 games with Arizona.
