Atlanta Braves 2022 Season Review: Respect your Elder

In the “Year of the Rookie” for the Atlanta Braves, one particular underappreciated contributor came up and served valiantly when the team was desperate for starting pitching help.

Bryce Elder made his Atlanta Braves and major league debut on April 12th as part of a brief 6-man rotation to open the season. In essence, it was an active open tryout for the Braves’ fifth starter spot which would eventually be claimed by Spencer Strider.

In that period, Bryce provided four starts for the Braves which would inevitably earn him a demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett. In those starts for Atlanta, Bryce went 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA, -2.3 K-BB%, 1.68 WHIP, and 6.27 FIP in 19 innings pitched. Not awful numbers for the then 10th-ranked prospect in the Braves farm system, but certainly not good enough to justify playing every five days for a contender.

When Elder was optioned back to Triple-A, he didn’t exactly impress. He only mustered a 6-5 record with a 4.46 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 4.45 FIP, and nearly twenty percent of the fly balls he surrender turned into home runs. Still, he had managed to cut down his walk rate from his career average 3.88 BB/9 to 2.74, and his xFIP was sitting at a solid 3.84.

Thus, when the Atlanta Braves needed a 27th man for their August 6th doubleheader vs the division-leading New York Mets, they decided to keep the faith with their 2021 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Bryce Elder. With Max Fried suffering an unexpected injury that forced him out of the game and eventually onto the concussion list during Game 2 of the doubleheader, Elder was once again thrust into the fray.

Though he valiantly took up a relief appearance that he didn’t think he’d have, he struggled mightily. Elder conceded three runs on five hits through 2.1 innings pitched as the Mets routed the Braves for their third win in four days.

Following Elder’s brief return to the minor leagues after his outing against the Mets, he was once again called up on August 13th in exchange for fellow rookie Kyle Muller, which was a relative surprise considering Muller looked solid (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 Ks) in his win against the Miami Marlins that same day.

Elder, who was once again up, was scheduled to make his first spot start since he faced the Texas Rangers on April 30th. What happened next changed the outlook of Elder’s 2022 and possibly his entire career. Elder turned in seven strong innings of 10-strikeout, three-hit, one-run baseball as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Marlins in the 9th inning thanks to some clutch late hitting.

Unfortunately, the good feeling wouldn’t last forever as Elder was, once again, optioned back to Triple-A to join the struggling Ian Anderson and fellow interim starter Kyle Muller. However, Elder had already done enough for the Braves to once again call on him when the time was appropriate.

Elder re-joined the Braves on September 3rd when Jake Odorizzi, who had been the Braves’ rocky but established fifth starter needed to have his start pushed back due to arm fatigue. Elder once again pitched against Miami and shined bright, putting together six innings of two-hit, shutout ball. At this point, it was clear that Elder, among his crowd of competitors, was now the spot-start favorite.

The Atlanta Braves, despite the two good starts from Elder, would exhaust their final minor league option for the rookie pitcher the next day but would call him up for the final time in exchange for William Woods on September 19th. With rookie phenom Spencer Strider suffering an oblique strain during his September 18th start against the Philadelphia Phillies, it was time for Elder to make his mark as a semi-regular starter.

As the clear favorite over Muller and Anderson, Elder would make two consecutive starts against the Nationals on September 21st and 26th. In the first game, he pitched a brilliant 5.2 innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts, while the second game was a complete game, six strikeout, one walk, six hit shutout masterpiece.

It was the Atlanta Braves’ only complete game shutout all year.

Elder was having an absolutely fantastic bounce-back second half of the season and looked like a real candidate to challenge the struggling Jake Odorizzi for his spot on the playoff roster. Sadly, though, like most good things, his run of tremendous pitching came to an end on October 3rd against the Marlins as he conceded four runs in five innings and couldn’t manage to clinch the NL East for the Braves.

As we now know, the Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth consecutive NL East title the next day. Unfortunately, Elder’s season officially ended when the Braves snubbed him for the more experienced Jake Odorizzi on the NLDS roster in the following days.

For a rookie that may not have expected to feature at all during the year, Bryce Elder did wonders for his future prospects. Despite his early season struggles, he persevered and turned in a second-half masterclass to the tune of a 2.31 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.26 HR/9, 18.6 K-BB%, and 2.43 FIP in 35 innings pitched. His performances were invaluable to the Braves’ chase and inevitable capture of the NL East crown in 2022.

These days, Elder is in a great spot regarding his opportunities in 2023. Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has even come forward and named him as a potential candidate to claim the fifth starting spot in the rotation with the recent departure of Jake Odorizzi. Regardless of whether or not that comes to fruition, expect to see some dosage of Bryce Elder next season.