Atlanta Braves' long-term plan for Braden Shewmake
When the Atlanta Braves drafted Braden Shewmake with the 21st overall pick in 2019, there had to be some hope he could one day be the replacement for Dansby Swanson at shortstop.
He had a great career at Texas A&M where he was an SEC Freshman of the Year and slashed .323/.381/.487 with 22 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 188 games.
Things got off to a great start at the professional level as he slashed .300/.371/.425 in 65 games between Single-A and Double-A. Yes, they thought highly enough of his bat to move him up to Double-A the year he was drafted.
At that point, it certainly seemed like he would become the heir apparent to Dansby Swanson.
Then 2020 happened and there was no minor league season. He was part of the player pool brought to COVID camp (or whatever you want to call it).
Returning to Double-A in 2021, things did not go well as he hit just .228 with a .672 OPS in 83 games.
That led many to drop him out of the top 10 in the Braves' farm system rankings.
This past season at Triple-A was a little better, but not where you hoped Shewmake would be at this point in his career.
One thing that kept him in the top 10 of Braves prospects on MLB Pipeline was the strides he had made defensively -- and partially due to a very shallow farm system.
After the departure of Dansby Swanson to the Chicago Cubs this past offseason, virtually no one mentioned Shewmake as a legitimate candidate to take his place.
Credit to him, he has now forced his way into the discussion showing an improved approach at the plate and displaying excellent skills defensively.
What is Shewmake's role going forward?
Before Spring Training, many would have said that Shewmake's role in the future was either trade bait or a bench/utility-type player.
While that still could very well be the case, there is at least optimism that he could turn into an everyday shortstop for the team.
The defense is real, the Braves just need to see a larger sample size to see if what he showed with the bat in Spring Training is for real.
If he has a good couple of months in Triple-A with the bat, then he probably has a leg up on the shortstop job over Vaughn Grissom who still has a ways to go defensively.
Atlanta has already said Shewmake will play a lot of second base as they feel like they already know what Shewmake can bring them there.
The floor for Shewmake has been raised with his showing in Spring Training. There is now the chance he becomes a super-utility type player on the infield like a Martin Prado or Omar Infante in the past who can give you solid defense and a little with the bat.
But that hope the Braves had when they drafted him in 2019 has returned as well, and his ceiling is now the future starting shortstop of the Atlanta Braves.
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