Atlanta Braves news and notes from Wednesday
AJ Smith-Shawver is being called up to make his first major league start of the season on Thursday. I have some concerns about this for AJ, as I talked about in a quickpost (a new feature of ours if you missed it). He has given up quite a few walks and homers at AAA this season. While he has likely been throttling back his slider usage to develop his other pitches and has seen a velocity uptick, as Garrett points out in his own quickpost, I would like to see him ideally get a little more time on the farm, especially with him still being so young and inexperienced as a pitcher. That being said, this does make a lot of logistical sense, as the team needed a starter for both Thursday and Friday, as a result of optioning Bryce Elder and being flexed into a double-header Monday. This now allows Smith-Shawver to start Thursday and Darius Vines (who is already on the active roster) to start Friday, assuming he isn’t needed to cover a lot of innings Thursday.
Braves News
AJ Smith-Shawver is getting the call to start Thursday’s game against the Cubs. AJ has been shaky in the minors this season, but is the organization’s top prospect for a reason.
Max Fried absolutely dominated in a complete game three-hitter against the Cubs and the offense actually showed up in a big way to support him, with 9 runs.
Jackson Stephens returned to the Braves’ organization Wednesday after being earlier outrighted and electing free agency.
Braves Podcasts
MLB News
John Means, a starter for Baltimore is undergoing evaluation for elbow soreness, after leaving Wednesday’s game early as a result of the discomfort.
Xander Bogaerts fractured his shoulder against the Braves and will go to the IL, missing significant time with the injury.