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Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on IF Ozzie Albies

By Benjamin Chase

Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) works out prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) works out prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) works out prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) works out prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Ozzie Albies shot up the Atlanta Braves depth chart with a big spring last year and then had a very solid 2016. Will he see Atlanta in 2017?

Player Profile

The Atlanta Braves signed Albies out of Curacao, the same tiny island that produced Andruw Jones and a number of other major leaguers, but the Braves have a number of players in their minor league system who still claim they knew baseball and the Braves due to Andruw as they grew up.

Ozzie was sent to the Gulf Coast League to open the 2014 season, and after hitting well for a few weeks, he earned a promotion to Danville in the Appalachian League.

Combined between the two level, Albies hit .364/.446/.444 with 1 home run and 22 stolen bases, posting a 28/23 BB/K ratio.

Albies moved to Rome to open 2015, and he was tearing up the South Atlantic League before injuring his thumb in early August and missing the last month of the season.

His numbers with Rome were .310/.368/.404 with no home runs and 29 steals with a 36/56 BB/K. His exploits received notice on a national level as well as Baseball America ranked him as the #63 overall prospect, MLB.com rated him at #29, and Baseball Prospectus rated him as the #37 prospect in the game.

After an incredible spring training that left many unsure if he or Dansby Swanson would be the future at the shortstop position, Albies started his season at AA. After less than a month, Albies earned his way up to AAA.

Albies had some struggles in AAA, which some were attributed to off-field issues that led to the release of some players with the Gwinnett roster, but he really found his stride after the team moved him to second base. He went back down to Mississippi to team with Swanson up the middle, and the two of them formed a dynamic duo for a month and a half until Swanson was called up.

Albies saw his tremendous early stats take a bit of a dip after Swanson left, but by the time the playoffs came for Mississippi, he was back in stride at the top of the lineup. Then he suffered one of the more unfortunate injuries of the Braves major or minor league season when he fractured his elbow on a swing.

Combined in 2016, Albies hit .292/.358/.420 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 6 home runs, and 30 stolen bases. He also posted a 52/96 BB/K ratio. He was the Southern League batting champion with a .321 batting average in his time in AA.

Next: Albies' scouting report

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