Aside from the health of Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr., the biggest question for the Atlanta Braves during spring training has been how to settle the back-end of the team's starting rotation. Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and Reynaldo Lopez are a rock-solid top three, and Strider should be back sooner rather than later (and looking nasty as always). But beyond that, there are some questions, with at least one spot up for grabs ahead of Opening Day.
Grant Holmes figures to have the inside track on the No. 4 job to start the year, and could stick in the rotation even after Strider returns. The other spot figured to be Ian Anderson's to lose, except, well, he's pretty much lost it with a dismal spring training. So which direction will Atlanta turn to round out its rotation? Brian Snitker left very little doubt on Thursday.
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Braves aren't bothering to hide that AJ Smith-Shawver will be the No. 5 starter
While Anderson and Bryce Elder have struggled so far in camp, AJ Smith-Shawver has shined, with a 3.75 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 12 innings so far this spring. Smith-Shawver has had an up-and-down experience at the Major League level over the last couple of years, but he was one of the team's to pitching prospects for a reason; he's got some wicked stuff, and if he harnesses it, the sky's the limit.
So it's no surprise that the Braves appear to have already awarded Smith-Shawver a spot in the rotation with Opening Day just a week or so away. At least, if we're reading between the tea leaves: Smith-Shawver got bumped back a day, now scheduled to pitch behind Chris Sale on Friday — which would put him in line to pitch Atlanta's fifth game of the regular season on normal rest.
Sale will face the Rays tomorrow and make his OD start w/ an extra day of rest. Smith-Shawver, who had been slated to start today, will follow Sale tomorrow. Snit said he hasn't looked this far ahead. But Smith-Shawver would now be on regular rest to start the season's fifth game
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 20, 2025
Teams build out their spring pitching schedules based on how their rotation is shaping up for the season; pitchers are creatures of habit, and the sooner you can lock them into regular routines the better. So moving Smith-Shawver around in order to line him up with a certain order certainly seems to indicate that the Braves had made up their minds, if his play so far this spring hadn't done it for them.