As soon as Dansby Swanson arrived to a rebuilding Atlanta Braves organization in 2015, new expectations were created for him. As if being the first overall draft pick didn’t come with enough pressure, Swanson was called up to Atlanta straight from Double-A Mississippi, having played just 127 MiLB games. It’s been especially difficult for Dansby to develop the way he was projected due to the fact that he’s had to get himself adjusted to MLB pitching just as the team has begun playing meaningful baseball with hopes for a playoff berth. Although he’s struggled mightily at the plate to this point in his career, there’s plenty of reason to believe that 2019 is Dansby Swanson’s year.

Despite being worth 2.3 Wins Above Replacement in 2018 (according to Baseball Reference), Swanson had a tough time at the plate. Tallying 14 home runs was the only thing he did worth bragging about, and he accomplished that at the expense of batting .238 with an OPS just a shade under .700. Luckily, his improved defense was able to justify keeping him in the starting lineup for the majority of the year, something crucial to his development at this point in his career.

The Athletic’s David O’Brien posted this article on Friday, which discusses how Chipper Jones took Swanson under his wing this offseason. By no means is eight games (and a stellar Spring Training) an indication of how the season will unfold for the 25-year-old, but it’s hard not to think that Dansby’s .318/.467/.591 slash line and two early homers are a product of advice given to him by Atlanta’s Hall of Fame third baseman.

But Lieutenant Dans, you ain’t got no leg kick!

Since he broke into the Majors, Dansby Swanson has had a slight toe tap to start his swing. This is one of several facets of Dansby’s presence at the plate that Chipper has apparently helped him tweak. To those who pay close attention, it was obvious in Spring Training that Swanson had made adjustments during the offseason. Let’s take a look at the subtle differences between this season and last.

Here’s 2018:

Dansby Swanson turns on a breaking ball for his 8th home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/JtVHmjE1CA — FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) July 23, 2018

And here’s 2019:

Dansby Swanson has never hit an opposite-field home run in a major-league game. The @Braves shortstop has now hit one in back-to-back games to cap his fantastic spring training. pic.twitter.com/D50usdpsIc — FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) March 26, 2019

Immediately, two things about Dansby’s new batting stance stick out like sore thumbs: His knees are more bent, and his legs have been opened up. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that Swanson’s hands start a hair lower. The lower hands and bent knees make perfect sense after watching this short clip of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer discussing Dansby’s woes with low pitches.

One thing that really stood out was how rhythmic his swing has become. He may have always had some form of a leg kick, but now it seems almost synchronized with his hands getting set. He also keeps his leg in the air a bit longer, creating more of a leg kick than a toe tap. This could attribute to a bevy of things, including better timing, as well as generating more power by keeping his lower half intact.

He could be the next who?

As if the small sample of results Atlanta Braves fans have already gotten from the new-and-improved Dansby Swanson aren’t sweet enough, just look at this side-by-side comparison of Lt. Dans and your favorite hot corner occupant:

Dansby’s new setup does look remarkably similar to a certain someone’s RH setup. pic.twitter.com/6P7EASZ0Ts — Stephen (@b_outliers) April 6, 2019

Now I’m not saying Dansby Swanson is going to be Chipper Jones, but Chipper himself did directly compare Swanson’s offensive potential to that of Derek Jeter in the aforementioned article from Dave O’Brien. Although that might seem just as outlandish to say of a career .244 hitter, look who said it! Sure, Chipper’s an Atlanta Braves guy, but even so, he wouldn’t throw out that kind of comparison for just any guy he’s working with.

The key to maintaining success with this new approach will be for Dansby to be able to adapt once pitchers pick up on his new tendencies. He has a fresh look at the plate that there isn’t a ton of film on, and it’s currently working to his advantage. If Dansby Swanson can finally put together the season fans have had a yearning for since day one, he may be the difference between the Atlanta Braves being a Wild Card bid and winning the National League East.

I’m calling it now: Dansby bats .275 with a .360 OBP and 20 homers.

Chop On!