LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Ozzie Albies spent the past couple of weeks proving he has overcome the fractured elbow suffered in September. But the Braves' No. 2 prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com, will now head to Minor League camp with a bruised knee.
Albies fouled a pitch off his right knee during Tuesday afternoon's 3-1 loss to the Nationals and then found out the Braves had reassigned him to Minor League camp. The 20-year-old second baseman will now begin preparing to open the season with Triple-A Gwinnett.
While Albies might have provided a brief scare when he made an immediate exit after fouling the pitch off his knee, he felt fine after limping his way to the clubhouse.
Albies ranks by MLBPipeline.com as baseball's 10th-best prospect. He'll become the Braves' top prospect when Dansby Swanson loses his prospect status early this season.
Having spent both of the past two seasons in the Braves' big league camp, Albies will aim to make his Major League debut at some point this year. Had he not fractured his elbow while checking his swing during a Southern League playoff game in September, he might have come to this year's Spring Training with a chance to open the season as Atlanta's starting second baseman.
After being limited with some activities during the early portion of camp, Albies was cleared to play in games on March 9. He went 6-for-16 with a double, three walks and no strikeouts in 11 Grapefruit League games.