Between A Rock And A Hard Thrower, The Braves Do Have Starter Options

By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

Atlanta Braves fans had a lot to look forward in 2026, with a likely bounce-back season, expected to compete for the division, league and World Series title. Then came the awful news about Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, promising young arms lost for at least half the season, if not longer.

Suddenly, the team residing in Cobb County looks desperate to even be considered for a Wild Card spot, with a third of their starting rotation gone. Others remaining have all had their histories of injuries, meaning that should the other shoe drop, the team would be hard-pressed to repeat their injury-laden disappointing 2025 season.

The Truist Park residents now have a tough choice to make? Should they open up their wallet for a start with high potential but high risk as well? Should they settle for a mid-level innings eater? Or should they dip into their list of minor league arms and prospects?

High Cost High Risk Options

Those who post about and speculate about the Braves on social media insisted Atlanta should have signed Zac Gallen or Framber Valdez or Max Scherzer to the rotation. Those could have only been the case if the franchise was playing with Monopoly Money, like some owners seem to be able to do. My personal favorite pickup would have been Ranger Suarez, but we couldn’t keep pace with the Boston Red Sox and what they were willing to pay.

Speaking of the Red Sox, 31-year-old RHP Lucas Giolito is available for hire. Baseball columnist Jon Heyman writes “Lucas Giolito, the top free agent starter left, has had a normal offseason program and trained at Cressey Sports. After Giolito raised his arm angle 7 starts into last year, from 49 to 53, he had a 2.51 ERA over the final 18 starts with a .620 OPS allowed and 24.4% whiff rate.” Bleacher Report pegged him as likely to join the Braves in Spring Training as a late signing. But Bleacher Report also notes that his ERA should have been higher (closer to 5.00 than his 3.41 season) and that the Braves haven’t shown as much enthusiasm about pursuing him.

“Average Joe’s Gym Special”

The next best option would have been Zack Littell with the Rays and Reds last year, but the Washington Nationals just scooped him up the other day. Since the team is unlikely to coax Clayton Kershaw or Charlie Morton out of retirement, the Braves need a viable solution who is an innings eater and who wouldn’t give up too many runs.

Patrick Corbin, lately of Texas, might be the best of the lot available. His ERA was 4.40 (better than more recent years) and was only 7-11, but the Braves are more likely to help pitching careers rebound. Since 2016, he’s only had one season without 155 innings pitched. Andrew Heaney is well-traveled (most recently with Pittsburgh and the L.A. Dodgers) but is a lefty and threw for more than 120 innings. Tyler Anderson is also an LHP but lacks the innings and wins of the others. Kyle Hendricks, once of the Cubs, most recently of the Angels, is closer to Corbin, while Jon Gray of the Rangers had a forgettable 2025. None of these hurlers should be signed to anything more than a short-term “prove it” contract.

Cheaper and Hotter Prospects: Go To The Farm System (Again)

Speaking of young guns, the Braves have three top-100 options for starters, should they go that route. And the budget-conscious Braves may go that route. Didier Fuentes came up to the majors for a cup of coffee last year, which wound up tasting more like Sanka. But he might be better prepared this year if he gets the call. And he’s generating some buzz in the preseason, which could be why the Braves passed on Littell, and haven’t signed Giolito or one of the others.

“Right ahead of him on the new Top 30 is JR Ritchie (#90 on the prospect list), who has put previous Tommy John surgery way behind him, starting last year’s All-Star Futures Game and reaching Triple-A,” writes Jonathan Mayo with mlb.com. And Ritchie isn’t even the highest ranked starting pitching prospect, according to Mayo. That would go to Cam Caminiti, ranked 68^th among prospects.

Every year, I write about the Braves having great prospects, but they wind up with a low-rated farm system. Well, I’ve written about Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Schwellenbach, and now Drake Baldwin. Odds are that one of these Braves starting pitcher prospects could make a run for yet another ROY awards.

My feeling is that the team should pursue Giolito if he’s still available. The hitting talent and team nucleus is too good to waste. Should anything happen to the other starters (Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes), then Caminiti, Ritchie or Fuentes can be called upon to fill the gap until the young-armed cavalry rides to the rescue. The others (Corbin, Heaney or Hendricks) could only be picked up in an emergency.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu or on “X” at @johntures2. His first book “Branded” a thriller novel full of conspiracy theories, media deception and an academic investigation, has been published by the Huntsville Independent Press (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/product-page/branded).