Braves Rumors: Charlie Morton’s future, Vaughn Grissom’s turn, more

Braves Rumors: Vaughn Grissom deserves chance at 2B

Nicky Lopez began his Braves career at a torrid pace, filling in admirably for the injured Ozzie Albies with eight RBIs in his first two games at the plate. Since then, however, Lopez’s numbers have tanked severely. He’s 0-for-7 in his last two games, which is probably more indicative of the player Atlanta traded for. Lopez was batting .213 before the Braves acquired him.

With Lopez back on Planet Earth, Atlanta would be wise to consider alternatives — primarily 22-year-old Vaughn Grissom, who is batting .357/.457/.571 over his last four weeks in the minors. Grissom is already on the Braves’ 40-man roster and he is widely considered the best prospect on the team.

Grissom filled in at shortstop for Atlanta earlier in the year, with mixed results. The talent at the plate is obvious, but Grissom does struggle in the field. He has six errors in 19 appearances with the big-league club this season. The Braves could be hesitant to move off the elder Lopez for that reason alone.

Even so, Atlanta has a comfortable cushion in the National League standings and three All-Star infielders to cushion Grissom at second base. There are also fewer defensive responsibilities at second than at shortstop. Grissom has talent worthy of investment and the Braves would be wise to squeeze some big-league at-bats in before the playoffs. He has the potential to develop into Atlanta’s next star infielder under Ron Washington.