Atlanta Braves prospect Ozzie Albies may force a Brandon Phillips trade

If you follow the Braves closely, you’re familiar with Ozzie Albies by now. The 20-year-old has rocketed his way up to AAA, and is now knocking on Atlanta’s door, patiently waiting for John Coppolella to let him in. The only thing standing in Ozzie’s way at this point? Brandon Phillips.

I’ll be the first to say that it has been extremely nice for the Atlanta Braves to have Brandon Phillips in Atlanta this season. His .281 average isn’t dropping any jaws, but that’s fairly impressive for a 36-year-old. ‘Dat Dude’ has been a great team leader, and a great middle infield mentor of sorts for Dansby Swanson.

But let’s face it, there’s no future between Phillips and the Braves beyond this season. Ozzie Albies has been sizzling in Gwinnett, and I don’t see him being held there much longer. The September roster expansions may be just a touch too far away for the liking of Atlanta Braves executives and fans alike.

When you’re hot…

Ozzie got off to a slow start this season, batting just .255 in April. Fans were discouraged, but Albies quickly made up for the weak showing. Since May 1st, he’s batted .305 to raise his season average to a respectable .292.

Over his last 25 games, Albies is slashing .349/.385/.567.  His .952 OPS during that span would rank behind only Freddie Freeman (surprise, surprise) in Atlanta. During these 25 games, the shortstop-turned-second baseman has hit 4 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 home runs.

A small man, but no small feats.

Ozzie is not a very big guy. He’s 5’9, and 160lbs soaking wet, but he’s a living testament to the phrase, “height doesn’t measure heart”.

One thing I’ve found to be impressive about Albies’ play this season is the fact that he has more multi-hit games (26) than he does hitless games (17). This is impressive at any level, and I’m ready to see if the youngster can continue the trend at the highest level.

Another impressive feat is Albies’ 21-for-22 stolen base mark. The Braves haven’t had a true base-stealing threat in a few years and a 95% success rate is sure to fix that.

Being a switch hitter may be the biggest advantage Ozzie has heading into the big leagues. He’s hitting .371 (33-for-94) against left-handed pitching this year, thanks to his ability to switch sides and gain a slight advantage at the plate.

I’m excited to see how these trends hold up as he begins to face MLB pitching.

And the glove works too!

Since Ozzie became primarily a second baseman, his glove has actually looked better. He’s posted a .951 fielding percentage and 4.24 range factor/game in 1776.1 innings at shortstop, and a .975 fielding percentage and 4.48 range factor/game in his 1313 innings at second base.

I’m confident that he and Dansby will become one of the smoothest double-play combos in all of baseball, and remain so for quite some time.

It’s been nice, BP.

Every MLB club has nothing but love for the hometown guy, especially when he’s performed as well as Brandon Phillips has at such a late point in his career. In this situation, that love can only go so far before it’s getting in the way of the start of what everyone hopes to be a remarkable career.

While Brandon Phillips does have a no-trade clause retained in his contract from Cincinnati, there are 12 teams, some unknown, that the clause would allow Phillips to be traded to, so there’s a great possibility that we do see the veteran traded before the July 31st deadline.

And why not?

Next: Has Jim Johnson's time in Atlanta come to an end?

If we’re not re-signing him, and Albies is clearly ready, it’s only fit that we get something – no matter how small – in return for the remainder of his contract.  Trading Phillips along with a couple of other guys could put the Atlanta Braves in playoff contention for 2017.