Braves rookie Mallex Smith remains in the everyday lineup for the big-league Braves, and not back at Triple-A Gwinnett, because he’s done enough positive things to justify letting him learn at the top level.
Maybe more importantly for a touted prospect such as Smith, he hasn’t appeared to be shaken by the inevitable failures that confront even the most talented young players.
“If his confidence could have been hurt it would have been hurt in the first 15 days,” Braves veteran Jeff Francoeur said. “He just continued to grind it out. It takes a special kid to have that. I think some kids are more fragile than others. He’s very confident in himself, which is a good thing.”
Smith’s opportunity came after center fielder Ender Inciarte suffered a hamstring injury during the third game and went on the disabled list. The Braves promoted Smith, their top outfield prospect, but his stay could have been temporary if he were over-matched and the Braves felt as if his confidence were hurt as a result.
Instead, when Inciarte returned to the lineup on Saturday manager Fredi Gonzalez shifted him from center field to left field. Smith remains as the regular center fielder, though the plan is to bench him when the Braves face certain left-handed starters.
Smith, 23, said he knew he could be headed back to Gwinnett when Inciarte returned and he’s glad the Braves have enough confidence in his potential to let him stay.
“I’m going to keep showing up to the field every day and see where that takes me,” Smith said.
So far it’s taken Smith on the typical up-and-down trajectory for a rookie.
Smith’s offensive highlights include a two-out, RBI single in the 10th inning that lifted the Braves to a victory at Miami and hitting his first home run during a victory at the Mets last week. But he’s also struck out on 28 percent of his plate appearances, highest among Braves hitters.
Smith’s defense has been so good that advanced statistics rank him among the top outfielders in the majors this season. But his defensive miscues have included crashing into Francouer, contributing to a two-base error, and missing a diving catch after a bad break and then fumbling the ball as the Dodgers scored the go-ahead run in a Braves loss.
Smith’s four steals are tied for the team lead but his base running metrics are sub par because he’s been caught stealing an NL-high four times and committed some other blunders. At Boston then included over-sliding second base going for a double and hesitating before getting caught stealing third base with one out. In Chicago he made the first out of the eighth inning while going for a triple.
Through all of the miscues, Smith said he remains upbeat. He said that “as long as I’m learning, I don’t care about mistakes” and that he gains perspective when he sees that even great players such as Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera have bad days.
“I don’t really get down on myself,” Smith said. “This is a hard game. It’s a hard game. Why would you get mad because you are doing something bad when it’s a hard game?”
There are signs that Smith is getting better. The defensive mistakes that were common during Smith’s first few days in the majors have subsided, he’s been more consistent on the base paths and he’s starting to get results at the plate.
Over Smith’s last seven starts (25 plate appearances) he is 9-for-23 (.391) with three doubles, three doubles, the home run and just five strikeouts.
“His adjustments have been pretty good,” Francoeur said. “I think you’ve seen he is putting the ball in play now. I think he’s realizing that (pitchers) are going to try to attack early and then put you away. He’s starting to really add some life in here.”
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