Vaughn Grissom turns up the heat on Atlanta Braves

After being left off the Atlanta Braves’ Opening Day roster, Vaughn Grissom is making a push to get back to the majors with an impressive start in Triple-A.

With yet another strong game in Triple-A, in which he went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Vaughn Grissom continues to put the pressure on the Braves and Alex Anthopoulos to bring him back to Atlanta.

Heading into Spring Training, it looked like Vaughn Grissom was the heir apparent to take over shortstop duties for the departed Dansby Swanson. But when the Braves announced their Opening Day roster, the young infielder found himself on the outside looking in, despite a strong spring.

Atlanta instead gave the starting job, along with a contract extension, to Orlando Arcia and sent Grissom packing down to Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves clearly weren’t convinced of Grissom’s ability to maintain the starting shortstop role, at least not in the field, despite his defensive work in the offseason with Ron Washington.

Vaughn Grissom puts pressure on the Braves with his bat

All Grissom has done since starting in Triple-A, a level he skipped last year en route to his major league debut, is hit.

In his Stripers debut, as if to prove a point, the 22-year-old went 1-for-3 with a triple, two walks, three runs scored and a stolen base. Not a bad start for a young player looking to make his way back to the major leagues.

Through four games, Grissom is hitting .500/.619/1.063 and has already collected a home run, two doubles, two triples, seven runs and a pair of stolen bases. He’s walked four times and has yet to strike out while posting a ridiculous 302 wRC+. It’s fair to say his bat isn’t the problem.

In the field, Grissom has started one game at second and three at short and has already made two errors in only 20 fielding chances. If he wants to see a big league field again this season he’ll have to clean up his glove work or continue putting up video game-like numbers at the plate, especially if he plans to unseat Arcia.