Braves Prospect Owen Murphy Making Most of New Challenges, Health

It’s a year of the new and exciting for right-handed prospect Owen Murphy. Having already experienced two new levels of the minor leagues this season (Double-A and Triple-A), the Atlanta Braves’ No. 5 prospect is just doing his best to take it all in.

He may be in unfamiliar territory, but he’s been fortunate to have the right group in the dugout around him to stay loose.

“The guys we got on the roster are amazing. Like, they’ve really taken me under their wing and everything, and it’s just, it’s been so much fun.”

Along with the right atmosphere, there is a sense of enthusiasm that comes with starting the season fully healthy. He didn’t make his season debut in 2025 until late July because he was finishing up his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

While there were positives from that experience, such as getting more in tune with his body, the journey back from his torn UCL was described by him as grueling and a grind. Now, it can be all about baseball.

“It’s been great to have a full offseason where I can just focus on baseball again and not getting healthy.”

The fully healthy season started in North Port in the big league camp. The work toward achieving a clean bill of health and a strong finish to the 2025 season paid off. It wasn’t his first time taking part in spring training, but it’s an indication of where he’s at. The healthy standouts, after all, are the ones who get to join in

Instead of rehabbing his elbow, he gets to learn from the veterans. One player he’s gotten to connect with who is currently in the big leagues is Spencer Strider.

The two were able to relate through some shared experiences. On the field, the relatability is being two right-handers who have overcome major injuries, but off the field, they bonded over music.

Both are fans of the Strokes and Peach Pit. While he had Murphy’s attention, Strider got him into Symposium. Their self-titled album has been played consistently ever since.

“So not a lot of stuff that you guys listen to in the clubhouse as often, so it was nice to connect with him on that front,” he said.

A series of moments that bring positive energy his way have helped set the stage for something different this year. He was the opening day starter for Double-A Columbus, which served as his debut at that level.

While the numbers weren’t eye-catching, the progress he showed encouraged the Braves to give him a shot at the Triple-A level.

Throughout the season, focusing on the usual things like mechanics and refining pitches will always be under a microscope. However, there’s a certain level of being dialed in that he’s learned comes with succeeding at this level.

It’s a mental game as much as it is anything else.

“I’ve got to focus in a little extra against the guys in Triple-A,” he said over the weekend. “Because, I mean, it’s just better competition in Triple-A and better competition than years prior before [Tommy John surgery] and everything.”

Part of that new mental game involves how to incorporate new pieces of his arsenal into his game. He has two new pitches this season: the changeup and the cutter. It only gets tougher from here, and he’ll need the right pieces to win the chess match that is pitching.

For that reason, there was a strategy that came with the new pitches.

“Just opening the plate east to west,” he said. “Like, you know, I have a lot of stuff that moves north to south besides my slide, but my curveball and my fastball really play off of each other, but something to open up that side of the plate, and so hitters can’t just sit on a certain pitch and wait for that to come.”

It’ll take time to see the full fruits of his efforts. But for the time being, there are some results materializing on the stat sheet that show promise. His ERA over his last four starts is a run lower than it is compared to where it is for the full season (3.91 vs 4.91). About 40% of his strikeouts on the season have come in his last four starts.

The goal is to inch closer to being the best version of himself that he can be, and the trend is that he's in the right direction. Little things like the shift in focus and attention to the types of new pitches he chooses all will go a long way.

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