Ron Washington has sharp response for demoted Braves prospect
Once thought as the shoo-in to fill the void at shortstop for the Atlanta Braves, prospect Vaughn Grissom was sent down to Triple-A last week.
Following Grissom's demotion, Braves third-base coach and baseball lifer Ron Washington told the shortstop if he didn't like it, he needed to "play better."
While Washington's words could be perceived as overly harsh, Grissom seems to have taken the comment in stride, vowing to "take care of his business" before returning to the big leagues.
An 11th-round pick by the Braves in the 2019 MLB Draft, Grissom made his major league debut last season. In 41 games at the big league level, he batted a respectable .291/.353/.440 with five home runs and 18 RBI.
After showing potential in that space, many believed Grissom had the inside track to step in for shortstop Dansby Swanson, who joined the Chicago Cubs as free agency during the offseason. He held his own at the plate during spring training, too, slashing .371/.400/.429 over 40 plate appearances.
Despite these encouraging numbers, Atlanta has opted to start veteran Orlando Arcia at short to open the 2023 campaign — this despite the fact that Arcia has only played six games at the position over the past two seasons.
Defense could be what's holding Grissom back, but the young infielder said he refuses to listen to outside "noise."
"They probably can't play defense, so I don't listen to sheep, you know what I'm saying?" Grissom said. "If Wash was telling me those things, I'd probably listen or read it, or it might mean something to me."
Confident and slightly cocky, some more time in the minors might benefit Grissom. At 22 years old, he still has plenty of runway on which to sharpen his skills and improve in areas of need.
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