The Atlanta Braves have it all. However, the lack of a reliable fifth starter remains a question about an otherwise solid pitching rotation within MLB’s best team.
At the plate, there is no easy out in the Atlanta lineup, which continues to hit home runs at a record pace and leads the league in several offensive categories. That is why the Braves are considered a heavy World Series favorite.
The pitching on the mound is solid, but it lacks that one final piece of its puzzle: A fifth starter in the rotation.
Pleading (for) the 5th Braves Starting Pitcher
The Wright Stuff
Yonny Chirinos, who had filled a starting role, was placed on the Injured List with elbow inflammation on August 21. The Braves were 4-1 in games he started, despite his 9.27 ERA.
Logically, that starter to round out the rotation would and should be right-hander Kyle Wright.
Wright has been dealing with shoulder issues since last year. It caused him to miss the first part of the season, and when he did return, the injury flared up again, and he was shut down after just five starts.
Wright hasn’t pitched since May 3 in Miami. He has begun a minor-league rehab assignment and will need several starts in the minors before the Braves could consider returning him to the MLB roster. He had a 5.79 ERA in 18 2/3 innings before the injury. Wright posted a 3.19 ERA in 180 1/3 innings last season.
If he is completely healed and can return to his 2022 form, Wright is on track to rejoin the team before the end of the season. It will likely be late September, but there is the potential for him to pitch in the postseason, especially in a potential NLCS matchup, which won’t take place until mid-October.
Who is Allan Winans?
Teachers have all the answers, it has been said. Another answer to the Braves’ question could be substitute teacher Allan Winans.
In true Jeopardy! style, the answer is phrased as a question.
Winans, 28, who spends his off-season as a substitute teacher in Bakersfield, CA, was effective in his first two starts of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets on the road. In the 21-3 win over the Mets, he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed four hits and struck out nine.
The next time around, also against the Mets, he lasted just 4.1 innings and gave up seven runs in a 10-4 loss. He has a 5.17 ERA in 15.2 innings, which is too soon to gauge his effectiveness.
Exploring Options
Winans was sent back to AAA Gwinnett after that second start against the Mets, and lefthander Jared Shuster was recalled. The 25-year-old Shuster, who is 4-2 with an ERA of 5.00 in his nine starts, had less success at Gwinnett, where he was 2-5 with a 7.32 ERA in his last eight starts.
And then there’s the curious case of Michael Soroka. Before two Achilles injuries, Soroka was an all-star in 2019, posting a 13-4 record with a 2.68 ERA. He also finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in the Cy Young Award voting.
Soroka, 25, missed almost three seasons with various ailments. He has a 2-1 record with a 5.52 ERA in 29.1 innings. His situation is tenuous because he has been sent down several times. According to MLB rules, a player may only be sent down five times a season without giving them the option to go on waivers. At that point, another team could claim them or reject the assignment.
The solution may be elsewhere, but this is the rotation of rotation-fillers.
Main Photo Credits: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
