Ozzie Albies

Ozhaino Jurdy Jiandro "Ozzie" Albies (born January 7, 1997) is professional baseball Second Baseman in the Atlanta Braves organization.

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• Braves john hart ozzie albies dansby swanson just aren t ready
• Braves ozzie albies and sean newcomb among best in southern league
• References

Albies started playing baseball at the age of six, and began switch hitting in 2013. Discovered by the Curaçao-based scout Bargello Lodowica, Albies was signed by the Atlanta Braves for $350,000 as an international free agent on July 2, 2013. Influencing his decision to sign was the Braves' connection to Andruw Jones and Andrelton Simmons, both, like Albies, natives of Curaçao. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Gulf Coast Braves and joined the Danville Braves in July. In 57 games, Albies hit .364/.446/.444 with a home run. After the season, he was ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball by Keith Law, and fifth-best in Braves farm system by Baseball America. Albies started 2015 with the Rome Braves. In July, he was named to the All Star Futures Game. He was the only Braves prospect to appear in the game that year, as well as the youngest player on the field. Albies went 1-2 in the game, which the Word Team lost to the U.S. 10-1. He fractured his right thumb during the first week of August and missed the remainder of the season. In 98 games, Albies hit .310/.368/.404 and stole 29 bases. MLB.com placed him third on the list of top Braves prospects at the end of 2015, and 30th overall throughout the minors.

He was invited to spring training in 2016, and opened the season with the Double A Mississippi Braves. After 22 appearances with Mississippi, Albies hit .369/.442/.512 and was promoted to the Triple A Gwinnett Braves on April 30. In two months with Gwinnett, Albies hit .248/.307/.351. On June 30, he returned to Mississippi, playing second base alongside shortstop Dansby Swanson. Upon Swanson's promotion to the major leagues, Albies remained in Mississippi, having hit for a .292 batting average and a .778 OPS between the Double A and Triple A levels. Mississippi made the Southern League playoffs, but Albies injured his right elbow in the first postseason game and sat out the remainder of the season.

He was again invited to spring training at the start of the 2017 season.