It has come as a complete surprise to me that the 2025 Atlanta Braves are kind of, sort of, almost playing up to their lofty standard of late! After digging themselves into an 0-7 hole, just like the sweet lady greyhound I am currently dogsitting for loves to do in her tiny backyard, Atlanta has gone 10-7 in its last 17 games to back back within striking distance of .500 at 10-14. I may just get to watch this team live yet.
While the Braves and I will be in Phoenix at the same time, I will have the great luxury of watching Grant Holmes when he toes the rubber vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night. Holmes has earned his spot in Atlanta's depleted rotation of late, and although Chris Sale has to pitch better, he and Spencer Schwellenbach have really earned their keep over the last calendar year or so — and the benefit of the doubt.
But what about the other two spots, the ones vacated by injuries to Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez? That question has consumed Braves fans for days now, with everyone wondering why Bryce Elder keeps getting opportunities over fellow young righty AJ Smith-Shawver. But according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, that debate might be a moot point: Bowman says that Sale, Holmes and Schwellenbach will pitch in Phoenix, with both Smith-Shawver and Elder serving up batting practice vs. the Colorado Rockies in the early part of next week.
If neither pitches well vs. the terrible Rockies, albeit at altitude, they should not start for Atlanta again.
The Braves will go with Sale (Fri.), Holmes (Sat.) and Schwellenbach (Sun.) this weekend in Arizona. Smith-Shawver will have been down 15 days on Sunday. So, I would guess he and Elder will start the first two games in Colorado.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 23, 2025
If you cannot look good vs. the worst team in MLB, then you are the definition of a Quad-A pitcher.
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Atlanta Braves have a back-end of the starting rotation problem already
Even if Sale has struggled out of the gate, we all know what he is capable of when everything goes his way on the mound. Schwellenbach's growth and development as a pitcher is one of my favorite things about the Braves these days. I also love Holmes' willingness and desire to compete at this stage of his career. It is a shame that Strider got hurt again and Lopez is down bad.
Had Lopez and Strider been healthy, we would not have to be wasting our time with more Elder and Smith-Shawver nonsense. Elder had a great first half to one season that one time. But his low-90s fastball is the equivalent of that one first half Bryan LaHair had at the plate for the Chicago Cubs from yesteryear; I bet LaHair could take Elder's lasting offering some 400 feet into the Denver sky today.
As for Smith-Shawver, the sooner we can accept that he is the second coming of Sean Newcomb, the better off we all will be in Braves Country. He may have been promising at one point, but the guy just does not have it. I was never more sure of that than when I saw 2002 tattooed on his arm sleeve. It will change in time, but you do not want people to know your birth year starts with 2 and you missed 9/11.
If either pitcher loses to Colorado, I doubt there is even a spot for them on the Albuquerque Isotopes.