Sorting out our shortstops

rico43

rico43

<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
It's nowhere near unique for the Braves, but often the best athlete or the player with the best upside is the guy playing shortstop at that level.

Consider the guys who have been on that depth chart:

Oz Albies: playied SS in Gwinnett, made a bunch of throwing errors, so is now the AA second baseman

Dansby Swanson: the Class AA shortstop and is projects to be the Atlanta SS moving forward

Johan Camargo: just named by BBA as having the strongest infield arm in the Carolina League. Now part of the stocked Mississippi roster

Kevin Josephina: a top international prospect when he signed. Has advanced to Rome

Seymour: Just acquired from the Marlins, could be be moved back to CF, his original position

Derian Cruz: the Braves top international signee of 2015; already impressing at Danville

Kevin Maitain: the signing of the year, to begin play in 2017

Nicholas Shumpert: the final signing of the 2016; still waiting to see what he's got. Was a much higher pick last year

Who are keepers? Who is trade bait? Who do we move?
 
Swanson and Albies are the keepers, though Swanson is showing he might be less of a star and more of a solid regular. Maitan will not be playing SS for long. The rest are probably nothing more than filler.

According to this scouting report from BP on 8/5, Cruz may not even have the arm for SS, but he might turn into something someday:

Has some projection remaining given age. Saw hit from the left side, loose swing, tends to drag the bat with him in the zone and make soft contact, swing can get long, LD stroke. Well below average raw power currently, has some natural strength and strong forearms but isn't an over the fence power hitter, more gap power where the speed will extend basehits. 80 runner, 3.96 H-1B from the left side, did not see steal a base. Athletic actions in the field, plus lateral range and quick first step allows him to get to most balls, ok footwork but can get too fast and overplay balls. 45 arm currently, not ideal for SS, could improve over time, might have to move to OF or 2B. Very intriguing player, athletic switch hitter with an elite run tool and some contact ability.
 
Keep in mind with throwing errors that the 1B they play with is often a butcher in the field. A lot of those throwing errors would be negated by a good defensive 1B like Freeman. Also the playing fields are not MLB caliber either.
 
Kinda have to keep them all for the foreseeable future IMO. If you consider that Maitan likely moves to 3B (or even an OF corner) and Seymour's likely to provide far more value if you can ultimately make him a super-utility guy that can handle all 3 up-the-middle spots, we really don't have quite the logjam it seems - particularly since the majority of those guys are so far away.
 
Camargo probably needs the next shot at mlb, no reason why he can't handle it defensively and see how he swings it. May make a nice trade peice at the deadline down the road for someone that gets in a pinch
 
Enscheff said:
Swanson and Albies are the keepers, though Swanson is showing he might be less of a star and more of a solid regular. Maitan will not be playing SS for long. The rest are probably nothing more than filler.

According to this scouting report from BP on 8/5, Cruz may not even have the arm for SS, but he might turn into something someday:

Has some projection remaining given age. Saw hit from the left side, loose swing, tends to drag the bat with him in the zone and make soft contact, swing can get long, LD stroke. Well below average raw power currently, has some natural strength and strong forearms but isn't an over the fence power hitter, more gap power where the speed will extend basehits. 80 runner, 3.96 H-1B from the left side, did not see steal a base. Athletic actions in the field, plus lateral range and quick first step allows him to get to most balls, ok footwork but can get too fast and overplay balls. 45 arm currently, not ideal for SS, could improve over time, might have to move to OF or 2B. Very intriguing player, athletic switch hitter with an elite run tool and some contact ability.
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So one scouting report from one guy who's seen him one time leads to that when none of our scouts have mentioned it at all? He wouldn't happen to be the same guy who said Albies didn't have enough arm to stick either, would he?

I think I'll wait to see him personally before I proclaim him a 2B.
 
The reports on Derian Cruz have been pretty durn strong. I have high hopes. He is one to watch.
 
I think Camargo is traded this year. He has now power, speed, or OBP ability. His value is in his defense and that's not the guys we're looking to keep right now. Seymour could be kept as a utility guy, but it all depends on his BB ratio. Speed without the ability to walk has no value.
 
clvclv said:
So one scouting report from one guy who's seen him one time leads to that when none of our scouts have mentioned it at all? He wouldn't happen to be the same guy who said Albies didn't have enough arm to stick either, would he?

I think I'll wait to see him personally before I proclaim him a 2B.
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I put exactly zero stock into "reports" from anyone affiliated with the Braves. It is their job to pimp these guys. This is the only unbiased report about Cruz I have seen.

I think it's more likely he moves to CF.
 
Enscheff said:
I put exactly zero stock into "reports" from anyone affiliated with the Braves. It is their job to pimp these guys. This is the only unbiased report about Cruz I have seen.
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You can get a lot of good info from people 'affiliated' from the Braves, even if you have to filter some of the hype out. If you're just ignoring all of that, you're missing a piece of the puzzle.
 
Preacher said:
You can get a lot of good info from people 'affiliated' from the Braves, even if you have to filter some of the hype out. If you're just ignoring all of that, you're missing a piece of the puzzle.
Click to expand...

Data is always best when averaged from multiple sources
 
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