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Atlanta Braves third baseman Johan Camargo mashes first homer in 2018 Spring Training

By Jeff Schafer

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 16: Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves heads to the locker room after registering his first MLB hit during the game against the San Diego Padres at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 16: Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves heads to the locker room after registering his first MLB hit during the game against the San Diego Padres at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Braves Camargo smashes first homer this spring

All signs point to that the Atlanta Braves will head into the 2018 season with Johan Camargo as their everyday third baseman.  Though Mike Moustakas continues to sit out in the free agent world, the Braves seem set…and I’m okay with it!

Would adding a power bat to protect Freddie Freeman in the lineup help?  Of course it would.  I’d like to see an argument against that theory.  But things don’t work out as easy in real life as if you’re playing MLB The Show.

Braves manager Alex Anthopoulos continues on the path that he’s going to take his time to evaluate what the Braves have in their system before making any moves.  That’s fine.  I’m actually fine with this.  Also, as it’s shaping up, the Braves will have tons of money to spend next offseason.

So let’s put Moustakas behind us — unless he drops to a price we can’t afford to say no to and he’s willing to accept either a year or two — and start to get ready for Johan Camargo as our everyday third baseman and Tyler Flowers batting 4th in our lineup.

On Tuesday afternoon, in the bottom of the 7th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Camargo tattooed a ball over the right field wall off Brett McKinney.

I’ve been a big supporter of Camargo for a while now and he definitely showed a glimpse of what he can provide last season.  Too bad that damn injury happened when he jumped over the chalk line because he was off to having a great second half of 2017.

If you break down the switch hitter’s stats from 2017, they look like this — against RHP .254/.287/.349 one home run in 180 plate appearances and against LHP .403/.434/.694 with three homers in 76 plate appearances.  A whole lot more productive against lefties.

For 2018, I think the 24-year-old will build off his success from last year and expand on it.  Over the offseason, the kid continued to play ball as he played in the Dominican Winter League and hit two homers in 20 games.

He’s never been a huge home run threat.  Over his time in the minors — signed with the Braves on July 2, 2010 — he’s only hit 12 home runs.

Over the Braves first five games of the 2018 Spring Training season, Camargo is now batting .250 with one homer.  He’s projected to hit anywhere from 6th to 8th in the Braves lineup.  That won’t put too much pressure on him to hit home runs, but a little bit more power from him would be extremely nice.  Hell, if the power doesn’t come, as long as he continues to get on base, I’m okay with that.

Next: Braves discussed signing OF Ben Revere

Braves should roll with Camargo and see his potential.  What if he explodes onto the scene and hits 18 homers in 2018?  He’s still young and growing.  You never know.  MLB.com is projecting a season that looks like this — 250 BA, 50 R, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB.  Just a hunch, but I’m thinking those numbers are too low.

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