Vaughn who? Newest Brave keeps top prospect in the minors

Nicky Lopez, the newest member of the Atlanta Braves, continues to show out in his first at-bats with the team. 

The Atlanta Braves were mostly quiet at the trade deadline, but Alex Anthopoulos did land utility infielder Nicky Lopez from the Kansas City Royals. No one thought much of it at the time — Lopez is a historically meager hitter and the Braves have four All-Stars in the infield — but lo and behold, Lopez is already a fan favorite.

Per MLB’s Sarah Langs, Lopez has set the Braves record for most RBIs in a player’s first four games with the team with eight.

How many games has Lopez actually batted in? Two.

Lopez drove home five runs in the Braves’ 21-3 shellacking of the Mets last week. Now with the Yankees in town, Atlanta is unearthing similar magic. Lopez sent a line drive rope to right-centerfield Monday night to continue an impressive train of run-scoring hits from the back end of Atlanta’s lineup.

Nicky Lopez renders Vaughn Grissom redundant for Atlanta Braves

Lopez will have to return to earth eventually, but he continues to thrive in a Braves uniform. Sometimes, all a player needs is a change of scenery. We’ve seen it time and time again. Atlanta has furnished Lopez with an opportunity to compete for a World Series. He’s taking that opportunity and running with it.

At this rate, Lopez will continue to get reps in relief of Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, and Austin Riley as the need arises. He has locked up the primary backup infielder role, which will naturally lead to questions about Vaughn Grissom’s future in the franchise.

Grissom was a hot rumor mill topic prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline, but the Braves kept their top Triple-A weapon in town. Grissom has been tearing up the minors with the Gwinnett Stripers and it’s getting harder to justify keeping such an obvious talent out of the majors. Atlanta brought Grissom up earlier in the season to cover for the injured Arcia and the reviews were mixed — his defense is a major concern — but Grissom is slashing .328/.413/.496 in Gwinnett with 23 games in which he has reached base at least three times. That is patently absurd.

The Braves are suffering from an abundance of riches, which tends to happen when a team is well managed. Lopez has firmly planted his flag in the Braves’ rotation and in the hearts of Atlanta fans everywhere, but it could come at the expense of the 22-year-old Grissom. If this conundrum persists, don’t be shocked if the media machine circles back to Grissom trade rumors in the offseason.

Lopez will eventually have to carry his hot streak beyond two games, but it’s hard to ignore the positive energy emanating from the Braves and their newest arrival at the moment. It’s a fun story that shouldn’t get bogged down in roster talk. But, Grissom isn’t going anywhere — both literally and figuratively, from the looks of it. That could be a problem down the line.