Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on OF Braxton Davidson

Former Atlanta Braves first round selection Braxton Davidson had a rough 2016. Can he get on track in 2017?

Player Profile

The Atlanta Braves selected Braxton Cain Thomas Davidson in the first round of the 2014 draft, 32nd overall out of high school in North Carolina.

The Braves sent Davidson to their Gulf Coast League affiliate. He showed an excellent on base average, but not much else. In spite of the lack of other production, he did get a 13-game promotion to Danville in the advanced rookie Appalachian League.

Overall in 2014, Davidson hit .224/.387/.299 with no home runs or stolen bases, a 16.67% walk rate, and a 22.58% strikeout rate.

The Braves aggressively promoted Davidson to low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League for 2015. He played his games in right field, and showed much more ease at the position than his adventures in left field the previous year.

Sadly, the bat did not do much improving, as he hit .242/.381/.374 with 10 home runs and a stolen base, posting a 17% walk rate and a 27.33% strikeout rate.

Braxton showed up in 2016 looking to have done what has been termed by a number of scouts I’ve spoken with as the “bro” workout, his arms (and specifically, biceps) enhanced, but his overall strength not improved in the way an offseason of proper power lifting would have provided.

It led to a huge hole for Davidson in accessing his power, and on June 1st, Davidson was hitting .217/.302/.312 with just 2 home runs and 9 doubles after 45 games, having struck out 34.07% of the time.

To his credit, Davidson showed a great work ethic and got his body in shape and put the time in the cage to get his swing right. From June 1st to the end of the season, Davidson hit .229/.367/.387 with 8 home runs in 83 games, though the strikeout rate remained an alarming 36.53%

Overall on the season, Davidson hit .224/.344/.360 with 10 home runs and 4 stolen bases, posting a 13.76% walk rate and a 35.66% strikeout rate.

Next: Davidson's scouting report