Youth movement in higher gear now

The Braves’ future became their present on Sunday.

The youth movement was in full force in a victory against the Cubs in Chicago. Max Fried started, with David Freitas catching. A.J. Minter threw a perfect inning in relief. The infield trio of Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Rio Ruiz each had key plays.

“A lot of those guys had really good series,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

The win excited more than just Snitker and Braves fans. Swanson said the young guns are growing more comfortable with each other.

“Look at Freitas behind the plate and Fried throwing,” Swanson said. “A.J. pitched yesterday as well. And obvi- ously Rio, myself and Ozzie, and you had Ender, he’s pretty young too. So all the young guys. It was fun.”

The time Swanson and Albies spent in Double-A Mississippi together is often pointed to as valuable. But Swanson said it’s easy to forget that despite all the talent coming through the minors, the current crop of young Braves has had limited time together.

“I mean yeah, we played together,” Swanson said. “But it was Mississippi for a couple months, and we haven’t really been together that long. We just need to be able to continue to grow together and continue to develop. What anyone does, if they want to be success- ful, is grow together.”

Since Ruiz returned from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, he’s had a hit in all three games, including two with multiple hits. Swanson has looked like a new man since returning from Triple-A, hit- ting safely in 19 of his past 23 games. Albies has hit safely in 14 of his past 17 games. The Swanson-Albies duo is collec- tively slashing .328/.403/.480 with 19 RBIs and 30 runs in 24 games together.

“We are able to benefit from each other because certain things I’ve seen and gone through, someone else may not have,” Swanson said. “We understand camaraderie and chemistry is important. We’re not really focused on the years to come. It’s about being able to learn and grow right now, what we’re able to do today to reset to where we want to go. So we’re trying to stay true to that . ... There’s definitely learning curves. There’s failure in this game. So being able to adjust and battle through that is important too.”

There’s more help on the way via Gwinnett. Infielder Johan Camargo will be acti- vated today, and starter Luiz Gohara is expected to be added to the major-league roster.

Snitker believes that regardless of playing time, taking in the major-league atmosphere is extremely beneficial. “This is normally a month where they’re down, starting (Tuesday),” Snitker said. “Today was the last day of the minor-league season. It’s good for them to go through it, to experience it, the continual workouts, the game every day. Whether they get in a lot or a little, it’s a good experience for them to experience that last month of the major-league season.”