Albies, Swanson Team Up At Double-A

ATLANTA—The Braves decided to go back to the future at the end of June when they united middle infielders Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson at Double-A Mississippi.

“We’re getting those two guys together because (they might be) playing shortstop and second base in the big leagues,” Mississippi manager Luis Salazar said.

Albies, whom the Braves signed out of Curacao in 2013, spent most of April at Mississippi and torched Southern League pitchers with a .954 OPS in 22 games.

The 19-year-old struggled after a promotion to Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .248/.307/.351 in 56 games, and he moved from shortstop to second base in early June.

Albies’ bat responded to the return to Mississippi by going 10-for-24 (.417) with two doubles and two steals through six games.

“It’s not a demotion,” Salazar said of Albies’ encore in Mississippi. “We already know what type of player Ozzie is. The big thing he needs to do is work around the (second-base) bag. I don’t believe the transition is going to be very hard for him because he has a lot of ability.”

Swanson, whom the Diamondbacks selected first overall in the 2015 draft and then traded to Atlanta in the Shelby Miller deal last December, recorded a .967 OPS in 21 games at high Class A Carolina before moving up to Mississippi in late April.

The 22-year-old Vanderbilt product succeeded at Double-A, where he hit .276/.355/.425 with 19 extra-base hits through 55 games. His defense has been outstanding, which led the Braves to begin the two players’ alliance with Swanson at short.

“Swanson has made some unbelievable defensive plays” Salazar said. “. . . He also has a knack for coming through (at the plate) when the game is on the line.”

General manager John Coppolella said no timetable for a callup exists for either Albies or Swanson, but both have made the progress the organization wanted to see. In other words, don’t be surprised to see one or both in September if the experiment succeeds.

WIGWAM WISPS

• After shifting from third base to left field in early 2015, Dustin Peterson played center field at Mississippi for the first time in his career on July 1 in a move the Braves hope could be permanent. He hit .274/.335/.414 with seven home runs and 53 RBIs through 80 games.

• Mississippi righthander Rob Whalen went 7-5, 2.65 through his first 17 starts, limiting opponents to a .221 average and surrendering just three home runs. He allowed two runs or fewer while pitching at least six innings in 11 outings.