Atlanta Braves: 5 pitchers to replace Mike Soroka in the rotation
By Seth Carter
The Atlanta Braves lost their ace last night to a terrible injury. We take a look at some internal and external options to bandage up the rotation in preparation for a postseason run.
Atlanta Braves‘ ace Mike Soroka tore his achilles last night and is officially out for the season. The Braves are now left with one reliable starter in a rotation they hope would lead them to a world championship.
Beyond Max Fried, the Braves have question marks at every spot in the rotation. Cole Hamels is out until at least September.
Sean Newcomb has had his struggles as a starter and they have shown to start this year. Mike Foltynewicz was throwing 89.3 mph fastballs in his first start, which led to the Braves designating him for assignment.
They are currently crossing their fingers as they send Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint to the mound to start.
At this point, the Braves have to depend on Newcomb, Wright, and Toussaint to step up. Now they need even more help. Here’s a look at some internal and external options the Braves could utilize.
Atlanta Braves – Josh Tomlin
Josh Tomlin has been a very reliable reliever for the Braves so far. In 2019, he pitched in 51 games and 79.1 innings with a solid 3.74 ERA and walking just seven batters. The Braves need someone that can throw strikes right now and Tomlin has only walked 1.3 batters per nine innings in his entire career. Last season he walked less than one batter per nine and hasn’t yet walked a batter this year.
Despite being a valuable reliever, Tomlin was a starter for the first nine seasons of his career and has 145 starts under his belt. With the depth the Braves have in the bullpen, they can afford to send Tomlin to the rotation.