Dansby Swanson must hit more if he wants to play more

Dansby Swanson set the world on fire in August. He was a hometown kid, following in the footsteps of Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward as someone playing in his own back yard. Swanson was an Atlanta Braves fan as a kid, living out a dream by playing in an Atlanta uniform — and doing well.

Just 14 months after he was the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft, and just nine months after being traded to the Braves, Swanson was called up to Atlanta. He hit .302, with a .361 on-base percentage, three home runs and 17 RBI in just 38 games to end the 2016 season.

The Braves had another star in the making. He’s a good-looking kid with charisma, leadership skills and talent. He looked like the future face of the franchise. Swanson checked all the boxes.

We perhaps got lost in all of that and forgot that Swanson was still a rookie when he started this season. And rookies sometimes struggle; often they struggle a lot before everything finally clicks.

Swanson entered Tuesday’s game with the Cubs hitting only .220. His on-base percentage was just .297. While Swanson’s six home runs and 35 RBI in 305 at bats are adequate, he just hasn’t hit enough. And in the big leagues, players must hit to keep their jobs.

Never in a million years back in spring training would we have believed Swanson would be in danger of losing his job. The emergence of another rookie, Johan Camargo, has Swanson wondering each day when he enters the clubhouse if he’ll be starting or not.

Swanson started all but four of the first 82 games of the season at shortstop. Then, Camargo started four of the next nine games at short through Monday.

Both are rookies. One has been hitting, while the other has not.

Atlanta’s future shortstop is now not Atlanta’s current every-day shortstop. Things change in baseball. Players must produce to keep their jobs. This, however, is about as surprising as seeing Freddie Freeman play third base.

Look, this has as much to do with manager Brian Snitker needing a way to keep Camargo in the lineup. Camargo has gotten the chance to play some at third base, some at second, and he has been impressive. Camargo has a cannon of an arm and he just gets base hits.

Some compare Camargo to Martin Prado, who also came out of nowhere to eventually win an every-day job with the Braves a decade ago. What did Prado do to win a job? He just kept getting base hits. Just like Camargo.

With the return of versatile veteran Sean Rodriguez on Monday, the Braves now have an abundance of infield options. Rodriguez and Camargo can play all four infield positions, while Swanson can play second and short. And don’t forget about Ozzie Albies, a top prospect in Triple-A who is almost ready. Albies can also play shortstop and second base.

The Braves don’t have to make any long-term decisions right now. Snitker is trying to win ballgames and keep this team in the playoff discussion, so he’s going to play the hot hand. You can’t blame him for that.

If you hit, you play. If you don’t, you don’t. That rang true in Little League, and it’s true in the majors. Swanson’s just finding out the hard way. Nothing is given to players in this game. They must earn it. And suddenly, Swanson is not checking all the boxes.

But the Braves do not need to throw Swanson away or even send him to the minor leagues. That’s not going to accomplish anything. Sure, Swanson needs to get better. He needs to learn how to hit the slider and to play better at short. The Braves just have to balance having patience with a rookie and putting the best lineup on the field.

That will make us curious around the time the starting lineup hits Twitter. Will Swanson start or not? It’s a question Swanson will have every day, as well, but his production when he’s out there will only provide the answer.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Dansby Swanson must hit more if he wants to play more."