As the Atlanta Braves continue to try and work through their offensive struggles, they’re also trying to manage some of their arms in the starting rotation. Charlie Morton is 40 years old, Chris Sale is 35 and has a history of injuries. Reynaldo López has spent the last few seasons as a reliever, and the Braves want to make sure they don’t overwork his arm as well.
The Braves have been able to get all of their starters an extra day of rest by using a six-man rotation, and that’s why we’ve seen some of the young Atlanta prospects like Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep make their major league debuts over the past couple of weeks. At this point in time after seeing what Waldrep and Schwellenbach can do, The Morning Shift explained why there’s no reason for either of those guys to be sent back down to the minor leagues as long as the Braves continue to use a six-man pitching rotation.
“If you’re gonna go with a six-man rotation, I don’t see the point in sending Schwellenbach or Waldrep back down at all," Beau Morgan said. "I know that you might play with it you know because you manipulate the roster, but I don’t see why those guys, if you’re gonna go with that rotation, and Ian Anderson is not ready, why not just keep those guys up. At this point I’d rather see Hurston Waldrep and Schwellenbach every fifth and sixth day than Bryce Elder.”
To Beau’s point, Elder had his chance earlier in this season, and he didn’t capitalize on it. AJ Smith-Shawver is still on the IL, and probably a month or so away from being ready to join the big league club. Anderson is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, so why not let the young guys get some big-league experience and have the opportunity to showcase what they can do, especially when right now it seems like the Braves don’t have any better options as far as backend of the rotation starters go.