Resist Braves fans. Resist the temptation. Walk away from the light. And most importantly, to not let your knees jerk. Because I know they are ready.
The Braves are ready too. They’re ready to hand the reigns of their defense over to Andrelton Simmons, whether he’s ready or not.
I watch the games too, and I get it. Tyler Pastornicky is not an every day shortstop in the major leagues, and likely never will be. The Braves knew this entering the season, and his .605 OPS and .270 wOBA have done nothing to open their eyes to the problems that come with him playing the most important position on the diamond full time.
And yes, I know he’s last in the league (small sample size alert!) in virtually every defensive statistic available (which wouldn’t be damning evidence by itself, but certainly doesn’t help Pastornicky in this case), and watching him in person hasn't been much better.
Lastly, I know it seems that there's a solution ready that seems like it will solve all of the Braves problems. And defensively, it might. Andrelton Simmons is a really good shortstop. Right now.
But he could end up being a really good player, and soon.
He won’t, however, if the Braves call him up now.
The Braves did the right thing this spring, despite the obvious fact that Simmons outplayed Pastornicky for a three-week stretch in March against a bunch of guys who are currently in Double-A. Which is exactly where the Braves sent Simmons, and he’s developing quite nicely. 
Simmons has always had a reputation as a defense-first player, and he’ll likely never shed that, equally because he may never hit enough and because he may just be that good defensively. In 2011, Simmons brought his offense a step closer to his defense by hitting .311/.351/.408 in a full-season in the Carolina League. While his batting average led the league (in fact, he was the only qualifier to break the .300 mark), his weighted on-base average (wOBA) of .338 left him 15th in the league, thanks to his free-swinging ways and general lack of power.
The Braves were trilled with the development of the former second round pick, however, given that he split his time in junior college between the plate and the mound. But batting an empty .311 in A-ball hardly translates to enough offense in the major leagues, no matter how good a player’s defense is.
This season, however, Simmons has taken yet another step forward. He’s doubled his walk rate without his strikeout totals getting out of hand. In fact, he’s leading the Southern League in walk-to-strikeout ratio as one of only three regulars with more walks than strikeouts.
What’s happening this season in Mississippi is not reason to promote Simmons to the majors, however. It’s a sign that he’s developing into what could be a potentially valuable player. A plus-defensive shortstop who is a league-average hitter is a valuable commodity in the major leagues (think Elvis Andrus). Simmons’ recent developments in plate discipline this season suggest that the potential for him to become such a player rests much closer to the surface of his game than was originally thought. But it's not there yet.
The risk of calling him up now is that his development stops right where it is, rather than seeing where this arc is headed. At this point, Simmons has still had just 200 plate appearances in the upper minors, and none in Triple-A. If you want to make the argument that his success this season, coupled with the Braves need at the major league level, should warrant a promotion to Triple-A to see if his new offensive game comes with him, I wouldn’t argue to strenuously. Such a move could set the Braves up to have Simmons in the majors by August, assuming he continues to hit.
But instead, the Braves are setting themselves up for a stretch run early and don’t think they can get by with Pastornicky, even for just one year as they seemed to plan entering this season. Instead, they are going to jump Simmons to the majors now when he’s just beginning to hit his stride as a minor league hitter, a move that seems motivated more by panic over their recent 8-game losing streak and an impatient fan base rather than sound reasoning.
Simmons has a chance to be a real player for the Braves future and not just another name in the revolving door of players that have come and gone during their two decades of success. But by abandoning their pre-season plan because Pastornicky’s struggles have been more glaring than they expected, and in turn rushing Simmons to the majors now, they’re running the risk of ruining the future of a potentially valuable part of their core because they’re three games out of first place at the end of May.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope Simmons comes to Atlanta, maintains the plate discipline he's shown in Double-A, hits .300, and gives Braves fans everything they've been hoping for. Becuase I follow prospects for a living, I always root for their success, regardless of team affiliation or fandom. And more than anything, I hope that teams allow prospects to develop properly into the player that each deserves to become. It doesn't seem like the Braves are giving Simmons that chance because they've decided they need him too badly right now.
It’s a shortsighted move, and it could ultimately cost them.
