Braves Rumors: A Travis d’Arnaud trade, unlikely history, Soroka deals

Braves Rumors: Is Michael Soroka’s return imminent?

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Michael Soroka, who has struggled with injuries — including missing much of the past two seasons — made a brief appearance in the majors this year only to be sent back down to Gwinnett, rather than finding his form as an All-Star in 2019.

To be fair, it was always unlikely that Soroka would pitch like a Cy Young-caliber pitcher again. Doing so right after missing two seasons due to injury was virtually impossible. However, this week in Gwinnett, Soroka threw his best start of the season against the Jacksonville Jumbo.

The following, per Battery Power, sums it all up quite nicely:

"“Game two of this doubleheader belonged solely to Michael Soroka, who put up easily his best start since returning last season…Soroka finished strong and struck out the final batter to end a marvelous day. Soroka finished with eighteen whiffs on the game, and surprisingly those primarily came via his four seam fastball. Soroka had 49% of his pitches register as the fastball, topping out at 95.5 mph, and he forced 11 whiffs on 22 swings at the pitch. The other to do huge work was his slider that netted five whiffs on eight swings.”"

A call back up to the big leagues right now seems a bit unlikely, though the Braves are juggling several pitchers at the bottom of their starting rotation right now. Should Soroka back this excellent outing up with another, then expect the organization to be on high alert for a future call back to Truist Park. For now, though, his time is best-spent in Gwinnett so he can receive consistent opportunities.