The Atlanta Braves have an abundance of young pitching in their system, and I think they will lean heavily on that young talent for their rotation in 2022.
Starting Pitchers
Max Fried
Max Fried has three years of control remaining and has been a constant at the top of the Braves rotation for a while now. I imagine that continues into 2022 and he will most likely serve as the Braves Opening Day starter if healthy.
Fried is a potential extension candidate this off-season as well.
Confidence: Lock
Ian Anderson
Understandably, Ian Anderson has regressed a bit from his 2020 debut season. He was never going to have an ERA under 2 for a full season.
Some of his struggles in 2021 can probably be attributed to a workload. The most innings he has worked in his professional career before this year was 135.2 innings in 2019. He was on pace to fly by that this year before his stint on the injured list.
I would not worry too much about the shoulder issues right now, I think he will be fine. He is a mid-rotation arm right now, but if he ever gets his command issues straightened out, the sky is the limit for Anderson.
Confidence: Lock
Kyle Muller
Now that we have the two easy ones out of the way, time to move on to the tough section of the rotation to predict. Kyle Muller has been impressive in his early run with the Braves. It will obviously depend on his final two months, but I think he is making a compelling case to be in the 2022 rotation.
He is probably best fit to be a back-end of the rotation guy right now, but the potential is there for more. This big hard-throwing lefty will be an exciting name to keep an eye on over the next few years.
Confidence: Fairly High
Charlie Morton
Do not look at Charlie Morton in this spot and think I am predicting him as the fourth starter. He is lower because I am not super confident in him being on the team. I think there is a real possibility he retires after the season.
I do think if he chooses to continue playing, he would like to do so with the Braves.
I think if he gives it one more season, it makes sense to bring him back to Atlanta on another one-year deal. He has been a solid member of the rotation in 2021 and I think the veteran could provide that stability for one more year.
Confidence: Depends on Morton
Huascar Ynoa
The Braves’ pitching depth really made this difficult. I went with Huascar Ynoa in this spot because of his early season success. I think they give him a shot in the rotation.
Tucker Davidson and Touki Toussaint also have a shot at this spot and the Braves could run out a six-man rotation to start 2022. The Braves have so much depth here that they could even attempt to move some of it in a trade over the next year.
Right now, I am sticking Ynoa here. I think he has a shot to end in the bullpen long term, but the team will give him a shot to be a starter.