Martin Prado 2009 Outlook

Written by Colin on March 10, 2009 – 11:31 am

One look at the Braves’ depth chart and you’ll see that they believe Martin Prado can play many positions. Prado is second in line at first, second, and third base – and third at shortstop. Prado is coming off a 2008 season where he hit .320 in 228 at-bats over 78 games. He doesn’t hit for power but he’s patient at the plate and has shown a proficiency in the field at multiple infield positions.

What can we expect to see from Prado in 2009? More of the same. Chipper Jones won’t play all 162 games and Prado will get some starts at third base. I’ve also talked to some people who feel he’s going to start getting some playing time at second base if Johnson has any sort of a down spell. I don’t think we’ll see Prado at first much – if I had to guess, Greg Norton gets most of the backup time there if Kotchman needs any rest (and for some reason Norton wasn’t mentioned on the Braves’ depth chart as of today). Who knows where his batting average will end (hard to even estimate how much he’ll play), but we’ll continue to see solid numbers out of Prado.

Back when the Braves were still looking for outfield power, some people argued that Kelly Johnson could have been trade bait with Prado being the starting option at second. First off, I think Bobby and the crew believe Kelly has too much potential upside to trade, but I still think Prado isn’t a bad option to have start in the infield if Chipper goes down or needs a week off. It’s also good to see him getting some serious playing time with Chipper at the WBC – he’s played in 8 games with 19 at-bats.

Martin Prado is the utility man heading the ranks of the solid infield backup we have this year. We’ve already covered Dave Ross but we’ll also hit Omar Infante and Greg “I’m really not graceful in the outfield” Norton before the season starts. What are your thoughts on Prado? Journeyman utility player or future starting infielder somewhere?


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