Shortstop Dansby Swanson being sent to Triple-A Gwinnett

By Zach Dillard, Zach Dillard

Published September 26, 2017

The Atlanta Braves' consensus No. 1 prospect entering the 2017 season will be returning to the minor-league ranks.

Dansby Swanson, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, will be sent to Triple-A Gwinnettin an attempt to turn around a disappointing rookie season.

Swanson entered the season as one of the top prospects in all of baseball and Atlanta's starting shortstop. The former Vanderbilt product and Diamondbacks draft pick has struggled throughout in his first full season at the major-league level.

The 23-year-old has posted sub-replacement level production with a paltry.213/.287/.312 slash line, a rate that sits 48 percent below league average. His 14 errors in the field, the second-worst mark in the National League, have only exacerbated Swanson's 2017 concerns.

Coupled with Swanson's struggles, the emergence of fellow 23-year-old infielder Johan Camargo led directly to Braves manager Brian Snitker steadily relegating Dansby Swanson to the bench, sitting him for nineof the past 18games. (Swanson started Wednesday's getaway game in Arizona and notched two hits, including a double.)

Camargo, of course, can play multiple infield positions, but the presence of 36-year-old pending free agent Brandon Phillips, first baseman Matt Adams and position-switching superstar Freddie Freeman made for a crowded infield. With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline looming, this could be a short-term effort to reestablish Swanson's confidence and swing against lower-level pitching.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/shortstop-dansby-swanson-being-sent-to-triple-a-gwinnett