BRADENTON, Fla. – Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked about infield prospect Johan Camargo’s rash of recent defensive errors prior to Tuesday’s game against the Pirates.
“Up here (in the major leagues) it’s adjusting to the speed of the game,” Snitker said, “which is one of the reasons last year we were big on wanting to get Dansby (Swanson) up here, because they’ve got to see that speed of the game at this level. That’s good for them. They do that and they learn from it, hopefully, because it is different.”
A few hours after Snitker said that, Camargo made another error, bobbling a Jose Osuna ground ball in the seventh inning, one inning after entering the game at shortstop. It was the fifth error of the spring for Camargo and his third error in two games, after he made two at shortstop Sunday against the Red Sox.
The errors have probably diminished the chances of Camargo making the team out of spring training, since strong defense at several positions is what Braves officials expected from the rookie, who turned 23 in December. He has no experience above Double-A but played well in the highly competitive Dominican Republic Winter League.
Camargo has bobbled several balls, perhaps trying to rush because he sees how quickly the runner is getting up the line.
“That speed of the game – that’s why those good ones, they really slow it down,” Snitker said. “You look at (veteran second baseman) Brandon Phillips, the game’s not fast at all for him. It’s almost crazy what he does with it, how good he is.”
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