Braves Rookie Projected to Return to Starting Rotation

Although the "bullpen game" was the lone loss of the recent homestand, the Atlanta Braves survived their first turn through the rotation without Spencer Strider. The Braves finished the homestand on a high note Wednesday thanks to a strong outing from Bryce Elder.

What will the Braves rotation have in store for its next turn through without Strider on the team's second West coast trip of the season? MLB.com's Mark Bowman projected on social media how manager Brian Snitker could set up the team's rotation.

Barring another sudden injury, Chris Sale, Grant Holmes and Spencer Schwellenbach are set up to start the three weekend games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

With Thursday being an off day, the Braves could move Elder up a spot in the rotation to Monday. The seemingly other option is recalling rookie AJ Smith-Shawver.

Bowman predicted the latter to happen. Bowman wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Smith-Shawver will pitch Monday and then Elder on Tuesday versus the Colorado Rockies.

The Braves will go with Sale (Fri.), Holmes (Sat.) and Schwellenbach (Sun.) this weekend in Arizona. Smith-Shawver will have been down 15 days on Sunday. So, I would guess he and Elder will start the first two games in Colorado.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 23, 2025

With that rotation set up, the Braves will have their top, most experienced starters facing the 2023 National League champions. Then, Smith-Shawver and Elder will see the 4-18 Rockies.

Elder pitching at Coors Field isn't ideal. The right-hander has registered a 2.1 HR/9 rate through four starts this season. Coors Field is notorious for its thin air, which leads to some of the highest home run rates for any MLB ballpark.

But there's really no way around the right-hander starting in Denver. Moving Elder up or back a day still results in him pitching at Coors Field.

The Braves should have more confidence in Elder for his next start anyway. The right-hander didn't give up a homer over six innings during his Wednesday start versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

Smith-Shawver last pitched in the MLB on April 12. He didn't get the win, but pitched well enough to allow the Braves to come back and capture a 5-4 victory.

In two MLB starts, Smith-Shawver has posted a 4.82 ERA and 1.393 WHIP this season. Over three starts at Triple-A Gwinnett, Smith-Shawver is 0-2 with a 4.61 ERA, 1.976 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 13.2 innings.