Braves and Cubs set rotation for upcoming series
The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs both announced some of the starters for the upcoming series between the two teams in Truist Park this week.
For the Cubs, the rotation is some of their best: Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, and Marcus Stroman get the ball for those three days.
Steele, 27, is one of the frontrunners for NL Cy Young in a breakout season - the lefty's 16-5 with an ERA of 3.00. It's not a fluke, either, as his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is 2.99, indicating this is who he is now. Similar to Spencer Strider, he predominately does it with two pitches, although his fastball (92 mph) is significantly slower than Strider's and his slider is more of a sweeper. He faced Atlanta on August 6th, getting the win after 5.1 innings of eight hit, four run baseball with four walks and seven strikeouts.
Taillon, 31, is 8-10 with a 5.05 ERA this season, starting 28 games. The veteran's been plagued by the long ball, giving up 26 in his 28 starts. He's not faced Atlanta this season, his first in Chicago, but is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his two career starts against the Braves, striking out twelve and walking only two in twelve career innings.
Stroman, 32, is 10-8 with a 3.38 ERA in his 24 starts. He too avoided Atlanta during that August series, but he's 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA in seven career starts against the Braves dating back to his time with both Toronto and the New York Mets.
For Atlanta, the official announcement via game notes is Bryce Elder as Tuesday's starter and then two TBDs.
Elder, 24, broke out this season, making his first All Star Game, and is currently 12-4 with a 3.63 ERA. But he took the loss against Chicago in August, part of his post-ASB troubles. In the August 5th outing, he pitched only 4.1 innings with seven runs (five earned) on seven hits, walking three and striking out three. He gave up two home runs, to Dansby Swanson and Jeimer Candelario, as part of a five-run first inning in an eventual 8-6 Atlanta loss.
With Kyle Wright moving back to the bullpen, it's not known as of now who will be Atlanta's starters for the next few games after Elder's start. Jared Shuster starts for AAA Gwinnett on Sunday, while Allan Winans starts game one of Sunday's MLB doubleheader, so they're both unavailable. Dylan Dodd pitched in relief of the dominant Hurston Waldrep on Saturday and both could be an option for a start on Thursday, but Waldrep would require a 40-man roster move. AJ Smith-Shawver pitched on Friday for Gwinnett and could start on Wednesday, although he threw only two innings and hasn't passed three innings since being activated off the minor-league IL in early-September.
Expect a flurry of roster moves this week as Atlanta figures out how to cover these innings against the Cubs.
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