3 Braves most to blame for untimely losing skid

1. Bryce Elder, SP

Bryce Elder was deservingly awarded with an All-Star Game selection this year as the 24-year-old was masterful for the Braves in the first half of the season. More importantly, he delivered that performance when Atlanta needed it in the wake of injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright as Brian Snitker scrambled for answers in the rotation. It was Elder who stepped up.

Unfortunately, there are now concerns that the young righty might be regressing and it’s hitting the Braves like a ton of bricks right now.

The starting pitcher in two of the losses over the club’s last five games, Elder has gotten absolutely shelled by the Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, lasting just 6.0 total innings over his last two starts and giving up 12 earned runs — “good” for an 18.00 ERA over this span — and 14 total runs over that spans with opposing hitters posting a .419 OBP against him as well.

In many cases, the Braves offense has been potent enough at virtually every turn to mask any bad outings from starters, especially if they aren’t too bad. But the pressure that Elder has put on the high-octane bats in Atlanta has been untenable over the last two starts, allowing seven runs on the board in both outings before the end of the fourth inning. That’s just not good enough.

One can only hope that Elder gets back to his early-season form and that his is just a blip on the radar. What’s clear is that the Braves need for that to be the case, or else their trade deadline plans might certainly include finding another addition to the starting rotation.