This is the third piece of a weekly look, by position, at how the Atlanta Braves prospects fared during the 2016 minor league season. After starting out with catcher, followed by first base last week, we will be moving to second base this week.
Please note that this isn't so much a scouting report on these prospects as much as it is a recap of their season that will point out some areas where they excelled and others where they struggled. All prospects will be covered, but this is only a review of guys who are prospects rather than organizational depth. There will be more detailed scouting reports on certain players during the offseason.
Ozzie Albies
Ozzie Albies began the year as the Mississippi shortstop, a level ahead of Dansby Swanson. A month in they each got bumped up a level to continue playing shortstop. Then in July Albies was demoted back to Mississippi and moved to second base to pair him with Swanson- a point where Swanson eventually passed him out on the path to the big leagues. Albies may have joined him in Atlanta, but an ugly looking injury in the minor league playoffs ended his season early.
Albies had 82 games in Mississippi where he hit .321/.391/.467 with 4 homers, 33 RBI, and 21 steals. His AAA numbers are a bit less impressive at .248/.307/.351, 2 homers and 20 RBI with 9 steals in 56 games- but after a slow start in AAA he was just starting to come around and make adjustments to more advanced pitching. On the year he hit .292/.358/.420 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 6 homers, 53 RBI, and 30 steals.
Albies showed better than expected pop this year with his 49 extra base hits, and he even homered 6 tones- a huge increase after hitting just 1 in his first two seasons combined. While he'll never be a power hitter, he can still put it in the gap.
He was quite a bit better against lefties with a .331/.374/.500 line versus a .278/.352/.393 line against right handers, but he did have some time in AAA where he was adjusting to much older pitchers which is a factor. Overall minus the injury it was a very strong season for Albies, and he now finds himself knocking on the door of the big leagues.
Johan Camargo
Johan Camargo played 126 games for Mississippi this year while seeing time at every spot in the infield minus first base. He was light with the bat, hitting .267/.304/.379 with 4 homers and 43 RBI.
Camargo doesn't have a ton of upside but he's got versatility with the glove and did hit .320/.366/.387 against lefties.
Travis Demeritte
Travis Demeritte got off to a red hot start to the season on Opening Day and never cooled off for long. Of course his first 88 games came for High Desert of the California League- an extreme hitter environment, but he did keep hitting in 35 games with Carolina after the trade to the Braves in July.
In High Desert Demeritte hit .272/.352/.583 with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 25 homers, 59 RBI, and 13 steals in 16 attempts. He did strike out 125 times against 41 walks, but he made the Futures Game after a strong performance with the bat.
His Carolina numbers weren't quite as loud, but he was solid- especially with limited protection in the lineup. He hit .250/.384/.476 with 9 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 11 RBI, and 4 of 5 in the steal category. He did however strikeout 50 times against his 26 walks
On the year he played in 123 games and hit .266/.361/.554 with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 28 homers, 70 RBI, and 17 for 21 in steals. His overall strikeout to walk numbers were 175 strikeouts and 67 walks.
Demeritte was a bit streaky with the power and had huge 1.000+ OPS months in April and July, and while the other months weren't a disappointment they were slightly below his season numbers. He was also much better against right handers at .275/.371/.567 with 24 homers, while hitting .227/.320/.500 with 4 homers against lefties.
Next year should be a test for Demeritte as his big bat will start to face more advanced pitching in AA. Considering his high strikeout numbers there are some questions about how he will fare, but he's certainly a kid with a chance to make the adjustments to figure things out.
Luke Dykstra
Lenny Dykstra’s son had a very solid year for Rome before getting hurt, playing in 81 games and hitting .304/.322/.363 with no homers, 41 RBI, and 7 steals. Dykstra didn't show much in terms of power with no homers, 1 triple, and 17 doubles, nor did he walk much(6 walks)- but he did have a skill for making contact and getting base hits as he struck out just 31 times.
Dykstra was ultra-consistent in that he was even from month to month in terms of prpduction. And while he was a little better against right handers, it wasn't huge and with just 50 plate appearances against lefties it wasn't a large sample size.
Kevin Josephina
Josephina started the year in Danville and hit .300/.333/.420 with a homer and 8 RBI in 13 games before being promoted to Rome. With Rome he played in 37 games while hitting .267/.259/.382 with 2 homers, 12 RBI, and 6 steals. That's good for an overall line of .276/.280/.392 with 3 homers, 20 RBI, and 6 steals in 50 games.
The 19 year old was much better against lefties, hitting .360/.365/.540 against just .244/.248/.336 against right handers. He's not a huge prospect, but he is capable of playing short and third as well, giving him some versatility.
Matt Gonzalez
The Braves 6th round pick out of Georgia Tech went right to Danville after signing and hit .302/.327/.397 with 2 homers, 19 RBI, and 7 steals in 51 games wh playing primarily second, but also third and left field.
Gonzalez hit right handers at a line of .327/.349/.401, but wasn't very good against lefties with a .189/.231/.378 line. He was pretty mediocre in June and July as he adjusted to pro pitching, but did hit .344/.349/.459 in August.
Gonzalez is likely to start in Rome next year and has a future as a potential utility man with some pop off the bench.
Luis Ovando
Ovando is a 17 year old Dominican who started the year in the Dominican Summer League and hit .263/.337/.366 with 1 homer, 15 RBI, and 7 steals in 47 games. He was then promoted to the Gulf Coast League and in 11 games there he hit .306/.324/.333 with 4 RBI and a steal.
Overall it was a successful year for a 17 year old who has already made his stateside debut, as he played in 58 games overall and posted a .270/.335/.360, 1 homer, 19 RBI, 8 steal line with 6 doubles and 5 triples.
It wasn't a huge year, but Ovando quietly impressed as a second baseman who can play some short by performing well at a young age. He's years away and will start the year back in the GCL or in Danville, but he shouldn't be forgotten.
Braulio Vasquez
Vasquez is another Dominican who turned 17 in April and spent his season in the Dominican Summer League. While it's hard to read much into stats from that level, he did hit .333/.416/.374 with 11 steals in 28 games. His progress will be worth following next year to see if he can build upon those numbers.