Oooooooooooooo, four weeks in a cast, huh? And he was playing pretty darn well, too. Tough break there for Atlanta (pun intended).

He certainly caught my eye during the weekend series vs. the Phils. Very smart and looked great on D and looked like he had a clue at the plate. I hope this is just a blip in his career.

Why aren't the tools loving Phillies finding guys like this? Michael Bourn is the last position player they developed. Perhaps you could count D'Arnaud whenever he makes it to Toronto.

I hadn't heard of Simmons until early this year when I read a BP article on NL East prospects. He was actually listed as a prospect that fans were "too excited about." I've seen him in two series against the Nats and came away very impressed by his defense. It looks like the Braves are set at SS for the foreseeable future.

My understanding of Simmons as a prospect was that everyone thought his glove would be fine, but weren't sure if he'd ever really hit enough and while he can swipe a bag or two, he wasn't fast enough to make up for a subpar bat.

From what I've seen of him -- and I took a roto flier on him just before he came up and have watched a lot of him since (for some reason, I have like 7 Braves on my roto team) -- the scouts were seeing less than I'm seeing.

He looks like a damn fine player. Smart, knows what he's doing at the plate, has more pop than I thought, and runs well.

Probably hitting above his head right now, but the D is what he's paid for, and the D is world class. Rey Sanchez world class.

He's so slick in the field, just a joy to watch. He has the "make the difficult look easy" thing going for him. The power he's had so far is a mirage, but he if can get on base at an average rate and hit Juan Francisco's actual weight, he'll be fine.

Rey Sanchez is a good early comp. His offense is evolving but it's all in the right direction.

The optimist in me feels that this isn't so bad, because Simmons is so young and so thin, I could see him wearing out if he had had to play the position on a regular basis for the rest of the season. He played in 62 games in 2010; 131 in 2011; and 76 already this season. I realize innings in the field are not like innings pitched, but he was going to surpass his highest games total in August. A forced 4-6 weeks off isn't ideal, but at least he will have something left in the tank in September.

He hit well his first few weeks, and cooled down the last few weeks. He likely is hitting over his head right now, but he doesn't need to hit this well to help the team.

Yeah, his defense is incredible. I think Keith Law proclaimed him the best defensive shortstop in MLB from the day he was called up, that that certainly looks right to my eyes. One might even go to so far as to call his defense "the complete opposite of Tyler Pastornicky."

His power isn't a real thing, but if he can get on base at a league average rate (and his hitting has been getting better and better as he has moved up through the minors), he's an excellent player. Sucks about the hand, but not something that should affect him long-term.