Looming Braves pitching solution comes with serious baggage of his own

The Atlanta Braves are in the middle of a very competitive NL Wild Card race. While the Braves could sit and blame the injuries that have caused them to be without many of their top players, they still need to compete and earn a spot in the postseason. As we saw with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers last year, anything can happen in October.

One hole the Braves need to fill is in their pitching rotation and there may not be a better option than the team's top prospect, AJ Smith-Shawver.

Harrison Smajovits of Atlanta Braves on SI has been big on the way the top prospect has been playing too.

"Even with a rocky outing that saw him allow five earned runs, Smith-Shawver still has a 2.62 ERA since Aug 17. What also stands out is when he’s been scoreless, he allows few baserunners. He still needs to work on getting out of a jam, but we’re seeing him start to limit baserunners in the first place more often," Smajovits wrote.

But there are still some serious red flags with Smith-Shawver.

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AJ Smith-Shawver nearing big league return, but the Braves should be wary

Smith-Shawver was the Braves top prospect until Atlanta selected teenager Cam Caminiti in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Smith-Shawver has been quite successful every step of the way in his professional career, when he's able to stay on the field. That's been his biggest issue, especially in the big leagues: health.

The righty was excepted to take over in the starting rotation earlier in the season, but just a few innings into his first 2024 start, he suffered a lower-body injury and he hasn't made it back to the big leagues since.

He's dealt with injuries all season long that have held him back from being a lock in the Braves rotation. But Atlanta is running out of options.

Smith-Shawver is ready, as a player. He just needs his body and health to keep him in the big leagues.