Braves: Dansby Swanson is quite literally the hottest player in baseball

Dansby Swanson free agent

The Braves are winners of 16 of their last 19 games, including a 14-game win streak. Coming off a season that ended with hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy up, Atlanta started the year off sluggish. Almost every player had early-season struggles, then injuries hit — Eddie Rosario and Tyler Matzek being the most notable. However, the entire roster has turned it around, and nobody is a better example of that than Dansby Swanson.

To begin the year, the former No. 1 overall pick was in one of his usual slumps. It took him 20 games just to get over the Mendoza Line. In the club’s first 19 games, Swanson slashed .188/.268/.281 with an OPS of .549 — striking out 28 times to only seven walks. However, Swanson seemed to remember he was in a contract year and hasn’t looked back. He’s consistently been one of, if not the best shortstop in baseball since that horrendous start. And over the last month, he’s been the hottest player in the MLB.

Over the last month, Swanson is slashing .372/.432/.540 with a .972 OPS, four homers, 20 RBIs, seven doubles, and six stolen bags. Oh yeah, the Braves also have a 20-8 record over that period. He’s playing the best ball of his career, and it’s come because of the consistency he’s found at the plate. Not to mention, he’s playing excellent defense at arguably the most important position on the diamond. Swanson is good for one mega slump every year, and if he already got it out of the way this year, we could be amid the best season of the 28-year-old’s career.

Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire

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