Atlanta Braves’ Dansby Swanson is heating up (finally)
By Tyler Wilson
They say that April showers bring May flowers, and Dansby Swanson must think that flowers are base hits. The Atlanta Braves’ shortstop batted just .156 in the month of April, but no one lost faith in the 23-year-old, and now we’re seeing why.
The former 1st overall draft pick – that the Atlanta Braves robbed from Arizona – has used the month of May to silence his very few critics, slashing a pretty nice .291/.400/.455 so far this month.
The more impressive stats, however, lie within his last 12 games: Swanson has recorded a hit in 11 of them.
In these 12 games, our beloved Dansby has batted .359 (14-for-39) with 3 doubles, 2 homers and 10 RBI. This stretch has helped raise Swanson’s average for the season to a MUCH more manageable .207, and has hopefully paved the way for a Rookie of the Year campaign Braves fans were hoping for.
Patience…
Not only have we seen patience from Brian Snitker through keeping Dansby in the lineup throughout his struggles, but Dansby has shown admirable patience himself, drawing 13 walks in 17 May games.
Swanson had 5 walks in the entire month of April, but we don’t like to talk very much about the Dark Ages.
The only thing that bothers me even a little bit about Swanson’s play at this point is his strikeout numbers. He’s continued to strike out just about once per game (44 times in 41 games), but it’s worth noting that the MLB as a whole sees more and more strikeouts each year.
In fact, the league has set a new record for strikeouts in a season EVERY YEAR since 2005, so we may just have to accept the fact that they’re becoming a bigger part of the game.
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So, what should fans expect moving forward?
While the lineup may see minor drawbacks with slugger Freddie Freeman missing significant time due to injury, Dansby could be completely unbothered, as his usual 8th slot is the furthest away from Freeman’s 3-hole… though with that said, he was returned to the 2-hole for Sunday’s contest.
It would be wise for Snitker to leave Dansby in the bottom-third of the order for the time being. He and Rio Ruiz are a nice pair to see right before the pitcher bats.
I may be jumping the gun a bit early here, but I think Dansby is poised to finish the season with an average near, if not above .280. The kid had some adjustments to make, and he made them. I couldn’t imagine the Atlanta Braves being any happier with the way he’s playing.
We’ll get a much better gauge of where the Dansby Swanson train is headed by the All-Star break, as well as the team as a whole. For now, there isn’t a bad word to be said about Swanson.
He’s helped the Braves win 7 of their last 10, and they’re now a half-game ahead of the New York Mets at 2nd place in the NL East, and sit just 7 games behind the Nationals after winning two of three against the Nats in this weekend’s series.