The Prospect I NEED to See
Braves baseball is back. Honestly, this offseason seemed shorter than normal. It obviously wasn’t, but at no point did I feel like the winter break was dragging its feet.
With a new season upon us, new questions arise, new faces appear, & new roles are carved out.
This year’s pitching staff is a wild world of splendor & possible unrealized potential.
Other than the unfortunate reality that any pitcher can be put on the shelf for an extended period of time, we now have Chris Sale. An ace when healthy & comfortable, he possesses an elevated likelihood of missing a start or two here & there throughout the season.
Max Fried has had minor health troubles in recent years. Although I wouldn’t classify him as injury-prone, I wouldn’t be surprised if he missed a 3-start stretch somewhere inside the season grind.
With the 5th spot in the rotation already a question mark, the Braves will have to rely on depth if they don’t bring in someone from outside the organization. If you haven’t looked lately, the free agency pool has all but dried up unless Anthopoulos does something completely out of character and signs a Scott Boras client in Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell.
I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.
So that leads me to one guy in particular. While he may not break camp as the #5, I expect him to be in the rotation by season’s end.