2 Braves that have played themselves off the trade block, and 1 not yet proven
By Mark Powell
Braves off the block: A.J. Smith-Shawver
Atlanta doesn’t have much to offer in terms of top prospects, that much is certain. But the Braves do a very good job at identifying talent at all levels. A.J. Smith-Shawver is a classic example.
Smith-Shawver was a seventh-round pick, and is only 20 years old playing in meaningful big-league games for a contending team. What did everyone else miss?
Smith-Shawver can serves as a long-relief pitcher or a starter. For now, he’s being called upon in the rotation given the injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright. When those two return, however, he should not be sent back down to the minors if he’s still pitching this well. Smith-Shawver starts another game on Wednesday, but for now he has an ERA just north of two.
The scariest part of Smith-Shawver’s performance so far in the majors is that he thinks this is normal.
“I don’t think the feeling I had out there was normal comparatively to anywhere I pitched in the Minors,” said Smith-Shawver after his first career start. “I think I started settling in during the second inning.”
I cannot express enough how out of the ordinary Smith-Shawver’s adjustment to the bigs has been. He can’t legally order a drink yet. The last Braves pitcher to rise through the system like this was…Max Fried. Yeah, this kid is special, and shouldn’t be anywhere near the trade block.