With the simultaneous departure of their left-handed ace and all-time wins leader, the Atlanta Braves are looking to bring in a new weapon to have the same effect as Spencer Strider, 25, did last year.
Atlanta will host the Washington Nationals in a three-game home series from 10 to 12 April at Truiste Park in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.먹튀검증
Starting the first game of the three-game series will be right-hander AJ Smith-Schaber, 21, who made his major league debut on 5 May against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Smith-Shaver was Atlanta’s seventh-round pick in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft and has posted a 1.09 ERA across three minor league levels this season.
Atlanta called up Smith-Shaver to the majors this month, and after one game in relief, he was immediately given the starting job.
Smith-Schaber has an excellent four-seam fastball and slider, with an average changeup and breaking ball. With improved command, he could become a starter.
Most notable is his strikeouts per nine innings. He had 17.3 in Rookie ball in 2021, 13.5 in Single in 2022, and 12.3 in three minor leagues this season.
And in his major league debut on May 5 against Arizona, he went 2 1/3 innings, allowing no runs on no hits and striking out three.
At the time, Smith-Schaber threw a four-seam fastball that topped out at 97.1 mph and averaged 94.5 mph. The pitch is described as having cut fastball movement.
Atlanta may have pushed for Smith-Schaber’s conversion to start in hopes of another Strider. Strider hit it big last year after making the switch from relief to starting.
It will be interesting to see if Smith-Schwarber, who just turned 20, can revitalise the Atlanta starting rotation, which has been gaping with the departures of Max Fried and Kyle Wright.