Braves Sophomore Starter Predicted to Win First Gold Glove Award

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach flashed the glove when he turned a double play in the top of the fourth inning against the New York Yankees. He nabbed a chopping comebacker to the mound and sent it to second base for the first of the two outs.

This play had The Athletic’s David O’Brien heading to social media to make a not-so-bold prediction. Schwellenbach will join the ranks of Braves pitchers to win the Gold Glove.

“Not going out far on a limb to predict this season he'll win the first of many Gold Gloves,” O’Brien said in an X post.

Not going out far on a limb to predict this season he'll win the first of many Gold Gloves. https://t.co/vLQektADJQ
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 2, 2025

It’s definitely not that far out on a limb. Schwellenbach finished last season with a 5 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs. That was one better than reigning National League pitching Gold Glove winner and rotation teammate Chris Sale.

He had this performance in just 21 starts last season. Every other pitcher with a defensive runs saved of at least 5 made at least 26 starts.

He also had a perfect fielding percentage (aka no errors) and started two double plays, giving him a multi-way tie for the fourth most among pitchers.

Should he win the Gold Glove, he would be the sixth Braves pitcher to do so. Greg Maddux is the runaway leader all time in franchise history with 10 straight wins, missing just one time in his 11th and final season with the team.

The year he missed happened to be when he lost out to Braves teammate Mike Hampton.

Along with Maddux, Sale and Hampton; Phil Niekro won the award five times, and Max Fried won three in a row.

It’s a rich history of strong defensive pitchers in Atlanta, and Schwellenbach is looking like he will be the next generation.

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