Nobody had a worse preseason than Atlanta Braves infielder Ryan Schimpf.
Infielder Ryan Schimpf started his Spring Training with the Tampa Bay Rays but finished it as a member of the Atlanta Braves. No matter what uniform he wore, it was a rough spring.
Schimpf received plenty of opportunities to earn his way onto the Braves’ Opening Day roster. In 30 at-bats combined with the Rays and Braves, Schimpf failed to pick up a single hit.
Worse, Schimpf struck out an astonishing 19 times. Even Tim Tebow managed to get a hit during his time with the New York Mets.
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It’s not a shock to see Schimpf struggle at the plate. Through parts of two seasons with the San Diego Padres, Schimpf slashed .195/.317/.492. Last year’s .158 batting average in 197 plate appearances was bad, but so were other numbers posted by the left-handed hitting strikeout master. Let’s not ignore those either.
Though Schimpf hit for really good power over the last two seasons, his gap power never showed up. The best proof of this is that he hit 14 home runs last year with only a pair of doubles. Usually, when a player hits that many home runs without logging some two-base hits here and there, something else is wrong. Likely, this led to the trade that briefly let him represent Tampa Bay.
Schimpf’s free-swinging style helped him fan 175 times in his first 527 MLB trips to the plate. The rate gives him a career total of 200 per 162 games. Without the batting average to help his cause, it’s unlikely we see much more of Schimpf at the MLB level.
A bad spring is one thing for an established player. Someone in Schimpf’s position must succeed in the preseason to have any chance at an Opening Day roster spot.
Ironically, Schimpf still had a greater chance of making the team than teammate Ronald Acuna. The business side of baseball will keep him in the minor leagues for at least a few weeks.
While Schimpf stunk up the joint, Acuna ravaged opposing pitchers this spring. Before the Braves demoted him, the star prospect slashed .432/.519/.727. Acuna also added four home runs and another four stolen bases.
Schimpf had a realistic shot at making the Braves before swinging and missing as often as he did. Rio Ruiz looks like the starting third baseman with Charlie Culberson expected to back him up.
The Braves never did their due diligence this offseason when it came to finding a suitable third baseman. The plan seems focused on plugging in whatever they can until Austin Riley becomes available. According to Benjamin Chase’s extensive ranking of the Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects, Riley ranks number eight.
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Schimpf’s time at the MLB level looks like it’s fading. Briefly viewed as a power threat for the Padres, he has transformed into a literal near-automatic out. Thank goodness he did draw five walks this preseason to visit first base briefly.