Young Braves Get Younger With Promotion Of 20-Year-Old Pitcher

Just call them the Baby Braves. Every year, it seems, the Atlanta Braves are adding a player too young to vote.

The latest is a pitcher named AJ Smith-Shawver – not to be confused with incumbent Atlanta reliever A.J. Minter, whose initials are separated by periods.

Immediately the youngest man on a young team, Smith-Shawver started this season in Rome – not the one where Nero fiddled – and pitched so well that he rocketed from that High A club through Double-A and Triple-A en route to the majors.

Even he was surprised. “I don’t think in my best-case scenario I could have planned it like this,” the right-hander told Justin Tuscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think it’s worked out pretty well for me this year and it’s great to see they’re going to give young guys like me opportunities.”

He wasn’t kidding.

Last year, after injuries felled second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Adam Duvall, the team reached into the minors for talented but inexperienced Vaughn Grissom and Michael Harris II, both 21.

Grissom, a shortstop in the minors, moved to second for on-the-job training while Harris supplied superb defense and a potent bat that earned him National League Rookie of the Year honors.

The runner-up to Harris was Spencer Strider, then 23, whose move from the bullpen to the starting rotation coincided with the promotion of Harris – twin decisions that made Memorial Day a milestone in more ways than one for manager Brian Snitker.

Another 23-year-old righty, Bryce Elder, got his first two major-league wins last year, then pitched so well after his early-season promotion this year that he entered June as the major-league leader in earned run average.

“Our player development department does a great job to get these guys and indoctrinate them to professional baseball,” said Snitker, not only the oldest manager in the NL at 67 but a stoic leader viewed as a beloved grandfather figure by many of his players.

An organization man originally hired as a minor-league manager by Hank Aaron when the Hall of Famer served as farm director for the team, Snitker has guided his team to five straight divisional titles – tops among the 30 teams.

Even with top pitchers Max Fried and Kyle Wright idled by injuries for months, the Braves are dominating the division again. Their secret could be age – or lack of it.

At 25, superstar right-fielder Ronald Acuña, Jr. is arguably the best player in the league and is the odds-on favorite to win his first Most Valuable Player award. He’s on a projected path that will make him the first 30-60 player in baseball history (at least 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases).

When he signed his eight-year, $100 million contract, which contains club options that could keep him in Atlanta livery through 2028, it was the longest deal ever given a player under club control with less than a year of service time.

Third baseman Austin Riley, also an All-Star last year, is just a year older at 26, the same age as the switch-hitting Albies. Shortstop Orlando Arcia, a smooth fielder who’s a revelation at the plate this season, and newly-acquired catcher Sean Murphy are 28, while first baseman Matt Olson is 29.

In fact, the only Atlanta regulars on the other side of 30 are left-fielder Eddie Rosario, 31; designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, 32; and alternate catcher Travis d’Arnaud, 34.

The oldest man on the team is relief pitcher Jesse Chavez, who turns 40 in August, though starter Charlie Morton will join him in November. Closer Raisel Iglesias is 33 but most of the pitching staff – even the veteran Fried – are under 30.

Wright, whose 21 wins led the majors last year but has battled shoulder problems this year, is just 27. Michael Soroka, runner-up to Pete Alonso as NL Rookie of the Year in 2019, is two years younger – and back in the rotation after missing three years with a pair of surgeries to repair a torn Achilles tendon.

On a team that prefers promoting kids to signing veterans, Riley carries the biggest contract in team history: 10 years at $212 million. The rest of the regular infielders also have long-term contracts, along with Acuña Jr., Harris II, and Strider.

Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos, a self-described riverboat gambler, stunned the baseball world when he handed Harris II an eight-year, $72 million extension after he’d played just 71 games in the majors. The contract carries a pair of club options that could keep him with the team through 2032.

After securing the signature of Harris II, Anthopoulos gave Strider six years at $75 million even though he was only in his first full season. The pitcher responded by becoming the fastest man to strike out 200 men, topping a long-held record by Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

Now it’s up to Smith-Shawver, a starter in the minors whose initial assignment will be helping the beleaguered Braves bullpen. He reached the majors after pitching only 110 innings in professional baseball after leaving high school.

That level of inexperience mirrors that of Strider, who pitched only 94 innings in the minors, and Harris II, an Atlanta native whose minor-league background spanned 197 games.

“They have prepared us to understand that you can move up quickly,” Elder said. “The younger guys know if they do well, they’re going to move up.”

Next in line should be Braden Shewmake, a slick-fielding middle infielder who surfaced for a few days earlier this season. Grissom, whose bat is ahead of his glove, could be next, though he is also back in Gwinnett after starting the season with the difficult job of replacing free-agent defector Dansby Swanson, who signed with the Cubs.

The Braves spent less in the free-agent market than any of the 30 clubs but still ranked eighth in the majors with an Opening Day payroll of $203,077,500, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That will change if Anthopoulos extends Fried before the star left-hander qualifies for free agency following the 2024 season.