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Vaughn Grissoms work with Wash has him primed for Braves shortstop competition

NORTH PORT, Fla. — Vaughn Grissom is competing for the Braves’ shortstop job and will be evaluated in large part on performance in spring training games, manager Brian Snitker said Sunday. But Grissom goes into this position battle with veteran Orlando Arcia far more prepared and confident than a few months ago, thanks to his work with the venerable coach most know as “Wash.”

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Ron Washington, still remarkably spry at age 70, spent three weeks — one week per month — working with Grissom in intensive one-on-one sessions this winter in New Orleans, Washington’s hometown. Washington took the kid out for oysters and crawfish, but most of their time was spent on the fields at New Orleans Youth Academy, working outdoors in sometimes frigid conditions.

It was the kind of individual workshop most young players never experience, lessons from a master of his craft.

“Those three weeks that I spent out there helped me be a little bit ahead on the game (as far as knowing) what to expect out here, and just doing anything fundamental — knowing what’s the right way and what’s the wrong way,” said Grissom, who turned 22 in January, and has grown up a lot as a player being around Washington.

He’s a sharp young guy, and Grissom said he took so much away from his time with Washington, he didn’t even know where to begin when asked if there was one bit of advice that was especially beneficial. In general terms, Grissom said it was this: “Not taking anything for granted, no plays for granted, fielding every ground ball with the right technique. Keeping your mind focused.”

Grissom played shortstop through high school and for 161 of 254 minor-league starts (he had 58 starts at second base, 28 at third base and seven at designated hitter). But the Braves had an emergency need at second base last summer — Ozzie Albies and backup Arcia were injured — and they brought Grissom from Double A in August, after only 22 games played above Single A, to play second base.

Workin’ with Wash 💪@GrissomVaughn | #BravesST pic.twitter.com/OrXy5FRUyh

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 18, 2023

He started 39 major league games at second and only one at shortstop last season, and there were some who questioned whether Grissom was really a viable candidate to replace Dansby Swanson if the Braves didn’t re-sign the Gold Glove shortstop. After all, scouts had for years predicted the 6-foot-3 Grissom would eventually be moved off shortstop. But that hasn’t happened.

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Swanson left as a free agent, and the Braves didn’t trade for or sign an experienced replacement mainly because Washington assured Alex Anthopoulos, Braves president of baseball operations, that he could have Grissom ready to play big-league shortstop by Opening Day, if they’d get the kid to New Orleans for individual winter work with Washington in advance of some seven weeks more at spring training.

“I’m sure it’ll be a little bit of a transition, but he played short growing up and in the minors,” said Braves first baseman Matt Olson, who liked what he saw from Grissom playing next to him last season, and puts a lot of faith in what Washington says about the youngster.

Olson also had Washington as an infield coach in Oakland at the outset of the first baseman’s career. He’s quite familiar with his work with young players.

“(Shortstop) might be more comfortable for him,” Olson said of Grissom. “I know he’s been working hard, and if Wash is giving a thumbs-up on something, I truly believe it. He’s good. He works hard, he’s gonna do it. He’ll be good.”

Grissom reported to spring training nearly a week early — Braves non-WBC positions players are required to report Monday; first full-squad workout is Tuesday — and has been doing more work in camp with Washington, individual work before the regular workout.

“Every morning, it’s the same drills” as they did in New Orleans, Grissom said. “It’s just taking care of the details, taking care of technique and stuff.”

Anthopoulos has so much faith in Washington that he went with the plan, deciding that Grissom and Arcia — he’s a former Brewers starting shortstop — would compete for Swanson’s old job at spring training. And if neither looked ready or they got hurt, the Braves could always make another move before Opening Day. But it’s been clear for a while now, they don’t think that’ll be necessary.

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No one’s said it explicitly, but the job seems like Grissom’s to lose, though Arcia could certainly have a say if he clearly outperforms him this spring.

The Braves love the upside potential of Grissom. His strong bat-to-ball skills were evident immediately after he was called up. He drove a towering home run over the Green Monster in his auspicious Aug. 10 debut at Boston’s Fenway Park, and hit .420 with three doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs and a .660 slugging percentage through his first 14 games.

“I mean, anytime he was out there last year, he produced,” Olson said. “He’s 21 years old in the big leagues. I know Mike Harris, and (Spencer) Strider’s not 21, but a young guy too — they make it look pretty easy, but it’s not. And Vaughn was in that category, of coming up and it felt like he was going 2-for or 3-for every time he was in the lineup, playing good defense (at second base).

“He just needs to keep doing his thing, and he’ll be good.”

As is often the case, opponents developed a scouting report on Grisson after his first weeks in the majors, and pitchers exploited some areas. Grissom hit .220 with a .613 OPS in his remaining 27 games including 25 starts, and after only one multi-strikeout game in his first 14, he had nine in his final 27 games.

Still, he finished with a .291 average, .792 OPS and 121 OPS+ in 41 games and 156 plate appearances. Again, this was a young player — 21 at the time — who had only 98 plate appearances above Single A before his major league debut.

After playing error-free ball in his first 18 games, Grissom made four errors and a couple of other mistakes in his remaining 22 games at second base.

“It’s like anything else, you have to know how to make adjustments,” Washington said during the second week of their workouts together this winter. “And he’s learning that. Like I said, the kid played two years of (Single) A ball, and finds himself in the big leagues. So there’s a lot that he has to learn, and I’m glad that Alex has given us this opportunity to get him acclimated.”

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Two months later, Grissom feels acclimated. Though shortstop was his primary position through the minors, what he’s learned under Washington is next-level stuff on how to really play arguably the toughest and most important position, rather than playing it mostly on athleticism and instincts as Grissom could in the minors.

“Yeah, I almost didn’t know what I didn’t know,” is how Grissom put it. “Like, so many things I just hadn’t heard or been taught yet. Which is like a lot of people, you just don’t have that information available. I feel better than I ever have fielding ground balls these days, so it’s helped a lot.”

Asked another way about Washington’s lessons, Grissom said, “I wish I could give you one, but it’s not one thing, it’s like a whole mindset change.”

Grissom said he also learned from Swanson: “Tons of things. Just the way he goes about his business. On the field, off the field, just everything he does, it’s what you want to model a professional after. Same thing with (Austin) Riley. These guys, they’ve been there before.”

But when it comes to emulating a particular shortstop, Grissom smiled and said, “Watching all the guys, you can take something away from everyone. But I have a mechanic already, so I just listen to him.”

That mechanic is Washington. He’s 48 years older than Grissom but has connected with him much as Washington did with Ozzie Albies, Swanson, Riley, Olson and former first baseman Freddie Freeman.

All have credited Washington with helping them improve significantly through their daily work with him. Washington does one-on-one drills with each infielder before games all season, hitting countless one-hoppers and other sharply hit balls off the fungo that is never far from the coach in the hours leading up to games.

“He takes, like, 1,000 swings a day — I don’t know if anyone knows, that’s a lot of swings,” said Grissom, who said he couldn’t believe Washington was 70. “He’s doing his thing, and he keeps it coming. We do our work, and he’s really good about keeping me on the details, keeping me on the smaller things. He can see when you take, like, one percent off, or you take something for granted — he just knows.” Grissom smiled, thought about what that sounded like. “Wow, he’s in my head.”

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Not that that’s a bad thing. At this point in his career, Grissom is thankful “Wash” is here, there, everywhere.

“One of the plays the other day, I was running to a ball, making a decision, and I ended up getting it, and he goes, ‘So you were going to go at that with two hands, but you went at it with one?'” Grissom said. “I’m (thinking) like, that’s not even something you can see. Like, that was a decision. But he was in there with me.

“I feel very fortunate to have someone like that. It’s a tough game, a long year. To have someone that knows all, the ins and outs that a lot of people don’t know, that some people have to figure out, I can already just bounce my thoughts off him. It’s great.”

(Photo of Vaughn Grissom: Brett Davis / USA Today)

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