With spring training around a month away, the Atlanta Braves’ 2024 roster is pretty much set. There might be some competition for a bench spot or two and there is always the potential for injuries to mess things up like last spring, but the biggest question that Atlanta needs to answer is with the open spot in their starting rotation.
As Braves beat writer wrote recently, the Braves do not have a shortage of internal pitching options. Assuming good health entering spring training, Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, and Chris Sale are going into spring training as locks for the first four spots in the rotation. However, the fifth spot is very unsettled with at least eight guys having a chance at winning the opportunity for starter innings.
Here are 3 Braves pitchers who could surprise everyone and win the fifth spot in the rotation
There are certainly going to be some favorites to win the rotation competition during spring training. Bryce Elder held a spot in the rotation last year and while he gassed in the second half, he will be given every opportunity to win a spot again especially since he was an All-Star. Atlanta is also already strongly hinting that Reynaldo Lopez could start early in the season to try and preserve the minor league options of some of their other guys and no one would be surprised if AJ Smith-Shawver gets another long look.
However, this is going to be about the dark horse candidates to win a rotation spot. The Braves are notorious for thinking outside the box with their roster choices at times. Last spring, everyone thought that Vaughn Grissom was going to be the Braves starting shortstop only for Atlanta surprisingly pick Orlando Arcia which worked out quite well. With that in mind, here are three pitchers that could end up being surprise picks for the Braves’ rotation in 2024.
Darius Vines
The Braves used a lot of pitchers in their rotation last year to try and cover for injuries to Max Fried, Kyle Wright, and Ian Anderson. While most of the attention was on guys like Smith-Shawver, Dylan Dodd, and others, Darius Vines made a really strong first impression in his first look at the big leagues as well when he debuted in August.
Vines has some things going for him heading into 2024. He is already on the 40 man roster which always helps and both his changeup and slider grade out very well. In five appearances last season including a pair of starts in the big leagues, Vines posted a 3.98 ERA in 20.1 innings of work. He was even better in Triple-A where he put up a 2.36 ERA over 34.1 innings pitched.
There are some problems with this plan, however. Vines’ fastball is pretty borderline as a major league offering and if he isn’t spot on with his command, he has a tendency to get hit really hard. Vines had a chance to make a statement this fall in the Arizona Fall League, but he struggled with a 5.51 ERA in his four starts out there. He also missed time last season with shoulder issues which is never ideal.
With Elder having a pretty similar profile, Vines has an uphill climb to make the club out of spring. However, if Elder struggles and especially if there is an injury that forces the Braves to need multiple arms, don’t be surprised if the Braves give Vines a chance.
Allan Winans
With so many starting pitching options available to them last year, it was pretty surprising when the Braves called up Allan Winans to make his major league debut in July. He wasn’t among the Braves’ top pitching prospects at the time and not many fans were even aware of him at all.
Allan Winans
With so many starting pitching options available to them last year, it was pretty surprising when the Braves called up Allan Winans to make his major league debut in July. He wasn’t among the Braves’ top pitching prospects at the time and not many fans were even aware of him at all.
Selected in the Rule 5 draft before the 2022 season from the Mets, Winans is another guy that doesn’t throw particularly hard, but just knows how to pitch and who has some strong secondary offerings. His 5.29 ERA in six big league starts doesn’t inspire the most confidence, but those numbers are skewed by a couple bad starts and he still struck out more than a batter an inning in the bigs in 2024.
Helping his cause, Winans is also already on the 40 man roster. Once any guy is on the 40 man, adding them to the active roster is relatively trivial when it comes to logistics. If Winans comes out in spring and is pitching his brains out, Atlanta wouldn’t have to make any corresponding roster moves and, again, this team is very willing to let the best man win these sorts of competitions.
Is such an outcome likely? Probably not. Elder has more experience with a similar profile and Smith-Shawver has significantly more upside given the quality of his stuff. However, Winans has already beaten the odds to even make it to the big league at all, so don’t count him out.
Hurston Waldrep
This may be the most unlikely outcome, but also the most exciting. Entering last year’s MLB draft, Hurston Waldrep was widely considered to be in play to be a top 15 pick thanks to a fastball that sat in the mid to upper 90’s and a splitter that was among the best pitches in the entire draft outside of the ridiculousness that is #1 overall pick Paul Skenes.
Command issues ultimately caused Waldrep to fall in the Braves’ laps at the 24th pick and they were more than happy to scoop him up. Waldrep rewarded Atlanta’s faith in him during his pro debut where the former Florida standout put up a 1.53 ERA in eight starts and made his way all the way to Triple-A Gwinnett by the end of the season.
There is a real risk in moving Waldrep through the minor leagues so fast, although him being a college arm does make it more defensible. He still walks too many batters and getting his mechanics to be more consistent needs to be a focus going into next season.
However, the Braves have already hinted that they are expecting Waldrep to help them at some point in 2024. Purely based on upside, there isn’t a better option other than him beyond maybe Smith-Shawver in the organization right now and even that debate is really close. Adding him to the rotation would require a 40 man roster move which is a hurdle, but not an insurmountable one and using him as a reliever to start with also could be an option if he is needed. If Waldrep shows out this spring, expect the chatter around calling him up to only grow.
