There was a period where Vaughn Grissom’s MLB was a wild ride. He started the 2022 season in High-A, vaulted to the majors, had a great initial run, and then cratered. During the offseason, it seemed like Grissom was going to be the heir apparent to the shortstop position exhibiting a glaring hole since Dansby Swanson’s departure… but instead, the job went to Orlando Arcia, shunting Grissom to Triple-A Gwinnett, instead. That’s pretty much where he stayed for the whole year, as he faceplanted when given a brief opportunity due to an early-season Arcia injury.

How Acquired

The Braves drafted Grissom in the 11th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, giving him a sizable $350,000 bonus to forgo a commitment to Florida International University. Grissom flew through the minor league ranks and jumped from Double-A to the majors in mid-2022.

What were the expectations?

Forecasting Grissom coming into the year was tough. Offensively, he seemed to have a pretty high floor, as he absolutely thrashed pitching at each minor league level he played at, and finished 2022 with a 121 wRC+ on a .326 xwOBA in 156 PAs. Yes, that wRC+ was the result of outhitting said xwOBA, but he didn’t seem particularly overmatched offensively, at least at the top line.

On the flip side, his defense was horrendous. Playing largely at the keystone position as a fill-in for the injured Ozzie Albies in 2022, Grissom posted an absurd(ly bad) -5 OAA/-3 OAA-runs in what was essentially a quarter of a season. Given that 2023 likely needed Grissom to play shortstop, rather than second, and how poorly he defended the easier position previously, the uncertainty regarding his defensive aptitude was fairly unsettling coming into the year. In total, Grissom managed 0.7 fWAR in 156 PAs in 2022, which is a solid rate.

And, to put it plainly, even his .326 xwOBA was not without its own warts, as it was driven by an elevated flare/burner rate. While flares/burners do happen and are great when they do, they are a batted ball profile element that’s difficult to repeat; xwOBAs driven by lots of flares are harder to repeat than xwOBAs driven by other stuff. Grissom showed below-average exit velocities and hard-hit rates in his majors stint in 2022, as well as a contact-oriented approach that may have suppressed his power output, contrary to what the Braves have been assembling and coaching up and down the lineup.