What a Hypothetical Atlanta Braves Six-Man Rotation Could Look Like

There’s an increasing trend in Major League Baseball, and it’s the rise of even further rest for starting pitchers. In the 2020s decade, we’ve seen pitchers start on five days rest instead of four days rest for the first time.

Here’s the breakdown from MLB.com:

In 2021, 37% on five days vs four days 33%.
In 2023, 41% to 33%
In 2024, 42% to 32%

This shift coincides with teams experimenting more with a six-man rotation.

The Atlanta Braves currently utilize a five-man rotation but there were times last season where they would use a spot starter to give the main rotation an extra day of rest. But with this trend, it’s possible they try to use it at some point.

Let’s at some options the Braves have for this hypothetical six-man rotation.

Three spots are already locked in: Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach. When Spencer Strider gets back, he’ll have a spot.

So, that leaves a guaranteed need to fill two spots with a potential seventh starter needed to hold down the fort while Strider fully recovers.

Some immediate in-house candidates include World Series champion Ian Anderson, sophomore starter Grant Holmes, former all-star Bryce Elder and No. 2 prospect AJ Smith-Shawver. All of these guys have notable experience as members of the rotation already.

No. 3 prospect Hurston Waldrep is another prospect who has made his MLB debut already but isn’t necessarily at the forefront of rotation options just yet. The Braves also acquired Davis Daniel in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. He has starting pitching experience as well.

Now another level is No. 9 prospect Drue Hackenberg reached the Triple-A level last season. He’s another long shot to be in the rotation at least immediately but being as close to MLB as he is will make him an option.

There is also the chance that the Braves still sign an arm in free agency, which would provide them with a veteran arm guaranteed to make the rotation.

This isn’t the Braves' order of priorities. This is all based on experience level and who we feel are the most likely to get a spot.

To project a six-man rotation right now, this is how it would realistically look. For simplicity's sake, Strider is included:

Chris Sale
Spencer Strider
Spencer Schwellenbach
Reynaldo Lopez
Ian Anderson
Grant Holmes/free agent starter

If somebody goes down, Smith-Shawver would be the next man up to slide into the rotation in this projection.

The free-agent starter would be higher up than the sixth man - just to be clear. Grouping this hypothetical free agent with Holmes is for simplicity. To project where this guy would go, let’s say third in the rotation after Strider.

Again, this is all hypothetical. The Braves, as of now, will roll with a five-man rotation. But it's always fun to theorize how things could stack up as trends in the sport begin to change.