Atlanta Braves: Dansby Swanson is once again key to offensive potential

With the Atlanta Braves still looking to fill the void in the clean-up spot, Dansby  Swanson enters another season as a wild card for the offense.

Going into the 2019 season I wrote about how Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte were key to the Atlanta Braves’ success offensively.

I no longer have the hope that Inciarte can be a difference-maker at the top of the lineup, but I do think he could be a key contributor in the eighth spot and can thrive there.

Assuming Atlanta finds a big bat to replace Donaldson in the lineup, the Braves still need another big threat in the lineup to lengthen it out a bit.

Nobody wants to see Nick Markakis batting fifth all year for Atlanta again.

And that’s why Swanson is such a big key to the team’s offensive success in 2020.

My hope is still that they sign Donaldson and trade for another big bat like Starling Marte, but that seems like wishful thinking at this point.

Either way, Atlanta will need someone else in the lineup to step up, and I believe Dansby can that guy.

We all saw what he was capable of at the beginning of 2019 when he was driving the ball to all parts of the field with authority.

Before his heal injury in July he had a hard-hit percentage of 42.6 percent (it was almost 45 percent at the end of May) and an opposite-field percentage of 27.4 percent.

After coming back his hard-hit percentage remained about the same at 41.9 percent, but his opposite-field percentage dropped to 21 percent.

But the biggest difference after the injury was his 31.6 percent strikeout rate, which was just 20.4 percent before the injury.

I think we forget that the momentum shift in the offense when Ronald Acuna Jr. moved to the leadoff spot also included Dansby moving to the two-hole.

If we can get a full season of the Dansby Swanson we got in the first half of 2019 then it completely changes the dynamic of this offense.

And let’s not forget that Dansby was one of the best hitters for Atlanta in the postseason going 7-for-18 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.

I’m still a huge believer in Dansby and 2020 could finally be that year he stays healthy and puts it all together.

If we can get a Dansby Swanson that hits .275 with 20 home runs and an OPS around .800 it’s just going to make the Atlanta lineup much more devastating for opposing teams.