The haters said A.J. Smith Shawver couldn’t do it, and they were right

The Atlanta Braves just can't escape the injury bug this season. Chris Sale was forced out of the final game of Monday's do-or-die doubleheader against the New York Mets due to back spasms. Then, he was replaced on the Wild Card roster by 21-year-old A.J. Smith-Shawver, who drew the start for Tuesday's Game 1 against the San Diego Padres.

Smith-Shawver appeared in one game for the Braves this season. He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, striking out four. With Triple-A Gwinnett, Smith-Shawver made 20 starts, posting a 4.86 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 104 strikeouts in 87.0 innings pitched. Not exactly elite by minor-league standards, which is why Smith-Shawver was out of sight, out of mind for fans of the big-league squad.

That said, when injuries struck at the worst possible moment, Atlanta opted for youth over experience. Bryce Elder made a postseason start in 2023 and it went poorly, so Brian Snitker opted for Smith-Shawver's youthful pluckiness and lack of baggage.

Well, here's the thing. We all knew Smith-Shawver was destined to get smoked on the national stage. There has been nothing this season to indicate that Smith-Shawver was ready for MLB starts, even after picking up a few appearances in 2023. Atlanta spent half the season trying to figure out its fifth starter before Spencer Schwellenbach won the job. Smith-Shawver was in the mix, but only briefly, and he never should've been on call for a postseason start.

The Braves were low on options with Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez on short rest, but Smith-Shawver was destined to fail. Perhaps Atlanta collectively was destined to fail, but that is what it is.

In just 1.1 innings on Tuesday, Smith-Shawver coughed up four hits and three earned runs, including this two-run bomb from Fernando Tatis Jr. in the second AB of the game.

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AJ Smith-Shawver drops the ball in Game 1 of Braves-Padres series

As expected, fans from Atlanta and San Diego and everywhere in between reacted strongly to Smith-Shawver's struggles. The Braves probably hoped that Smith-Shawver could at least eat a few innings and keep the game competitive. Instead, Atlanta was in a 3-0 hole before the end of the second inning. Aaron Bummer was able to stabilize the Braves pitching efforts afterward, but this was not the game script the Braves wanted.

Here are some of the best reactions.

So, yeah, it was pretty easy to see this one coming. The Braves didn't have good options — aside from Smith-Shawver, the main candidates were a completely inexperienced Ian Anderson or the postseason punching bag, Bryce Elder — but there had to be something better than this. Smith-Shawver was doomed from the start, completely out of his depth against possibly the hottest offensive team in the majors.

Atlanta gets Max Fried back on the bump for Game 2, but that may be too little too late. The offense has not supported Atlanta's pitching so far, which is another concern. It won't matter who is on the mound if the Braves can't figure out San Diego's pitching.