Battle Royale in Atlanta! Braves Spring Training Heats Up with MLB’s Too Positional Showdown
Just because an MLB team enters the spring as a contender doesn’t mean its entire roster is settled. In fact, most of the time, the highest level of positional battle intrigue exist on teams set to compete for the postseason.
If a contender finds the right solution at the conclusion of a position battle, it will give the team an even stronger roster.
That’s what the Atlanta Braves are certainly hoping will happen. The Braves have several inexperienced pitchers competing for the depth roles in the team’s starting rotation.
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa named the battle among his top 10 in the MLB this spring.
“The Braves need to fill two rotation spots behind Chris Sale,Reynaldo López, andSpencer Schwellenbach to begin the season,” Axisa wrote. “Spencer Strider is working his way back from last April’s UCL surgery, so one of these two jobs is temporary, but he won’t be in the Opening Day rotation. Atlanta has to figure out who’s giving them innings at the back of the rotation.”
Axisa listed Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes and A.J. Smith-Shawver as the candidates to begin the regular season as either the No. 4 or 5 starter in the Braves rotation. Axisa also mentioned Davis Daniel, Dylan Dodd and Hurston Waldrep as potential candidates.
Waldrep pitched well in his 2025 Spring Training debut, throwing a scoreless inning. But the Braves optioned Waldrep and Dylan Dodd on Feb. 25, which seemingly takes them out of the starting rotation competition.
After one week, Elder could have an early lead in the competition. He pitched two scoreless innings in his Spring Training debut on Feb. 22.
Anderson struggled in his spring debut, walking three batters and giving up a run in 1.2 innings. Holmes allowed a homer and another hit in two frames during his debut.
Smith-Shawver hasn’t pitched in a spring game yet. But The Athletic’s Keith Law has high expectations for him.
Law ranked Smith-Shawver as the No. 16-most likely rookie to have an impact on the 2025 MLB regular season.
Even after Spencer Strider returns from his injury, the Braves may still need two other starters to make regular starts. Last season, the Braves often utilitized a six-man rotation.
They could do that again to give Strider and veteran Chris Sale additional rest throughout the summer.
