The Atlanta Braves are all-but locked into a postseason spot, but they have bigger fish to fry. The Braves have made the playoffs in seven of the last eight years but only have one World Series win to show for it. The goal for this season is to get back to the Fall Classic and to win it all, but the Braves will be relying on a shaky rotation to get them there.
Injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep have them ruled out of making a return this season, and while Spencer Strider’s season isn’t officially over, he certainly won’t be a traditional starter if he can return. This means the Braves’ postseason rotation will feature Chris Sale and question marks. Here’s what the best version of their postseason rotation will look like.
The absolute best version of Braves postseason rotation
Assuming the Braves win the NL East, they will be guaranteed a top-three seed in the NL and home-field advantage in at least one round. While earning a bye would be ideal, the Braves are currently 3.0 games behind the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed, making it likely that they’ll play a three-game Wild Card series with a shot at advancing to the NLDS. Here’s what that ideal three-man rotation will look like.
|
Game |
Pitcher |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Chris Sale |
|
2 |
Tyler Mahle |
|
3 |
Grant Holmes/Martin Perez |
Penciling Chris Sale into the Game 1 start is an easy task, and with how well he’s pitched in Atlanta (1.24 ERA in six starts), Tyler Mahle feels like the unquestioned Game 2 starter. The real debate comes in the form of the Game 3 starter, and unfortunately, it feels like there’s no clear answer.
Ultimately, the best course of action might be a piggyback involving Grant Holmes and Martin Perez. Holmes can start, but given how much better he has been when facing hitters for the first time in a start (.198 BA, .556 OPS) compared to a second time (.277 BA, .885 OPS), he should be limited to three innings at most, assuming the game is close.
Who he piggybacks with can be debated, but Martin Perez sticks out as an option. Not only has Perez had a good year (3.25 ERA in 124.2 IP), but he’s also left-handed. Going from a righty to a lefty could make life difficult in the middle innings for an opposing manager.
Braves have depth SP options worth considering
While the rotation above is Atlanta’s best look in a three-game postseason series right now, things can change in a hurry. The Braves have depth options that might force their way into the action sometime down the stretch.
Reynaldo Lopez, a pitcher who received Cy Young votes in 2024, is one of them. Things haven’t gone swimmingly for him since he’s dealt with injuries and even spent some time this season in the bullpen, but he just returned from an IL stint on Wednesday and has a track record strong enough to suggest he should be their No. 2 or No. 3 starter in October if he pitches well down the stretch.
Another pitcher worth keeping an eye on is AJ Smith-Shawver, formerly one of Atlanta’s top prospects. He has been limited to just five appearances this season and he hasn’t pitched particularly well in three of those outings, but he did pitch well last season (3.86 ERA in nine starts) and has stuff that should play up in the adrenaline-filled postseason environment. He has as much upside as any healthy Braves starter not named Chris Sale.
Both Lopez and Smith-Shawver will need to pitch well down the stretch to even enter the conversation of viable postseason starters, but they both have the talent necessary to factor into the equation once we get to October.
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