Atlanta Braves fans felt like they were punched in the stomach when word got out that budding star Spencer Schwellenbach is dealing with bone spurs in his elbow and that he was going to have arthroscopic surgery to correct the problem. Elbow injuries are spooky, no matter the exact diagnosis, and there is nothing about "bone spurs" that makes one think Schwellenbach could just rub some dirt on this elbow and be good to go. However, not everything is completely bad news when it comes to his injury.
Back in 1994, John Smoltz was dealing with pain in his elbow as well and decided to have arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur as well as some bone chips from his elbow. The timing isn't quite the same as Schwellenbach's procedure, but the rest of the details are surprisingly similar.
Braves fans should be hoping that Schwellenbach's recovery from his surgery follows (mostly) the same path that Smoltz did after going under the knife, because the next five years or so afterwards ended up being some of the best of Smoltz's entire Hall of Fame career.
John Smoltz dealt with roughly the same injury that Spencer Schwellenbach is, and that should give hope to Braves fans
Now, there will be some differences here. Smoltz had his surgery in September before the 1995 season and ended up making 29 starts that season. With Schwellenbach only just getting his diagnosis and plan of action, there is no way that he will play that much in 2026.
However, Braves fans should take heart from Smoltz's recovery after that. Before the injury, from 1988 to 1994, Smoltz posted a very solid 3.59 ERA across 1358 innings, including particularly strong seasons in 1989 and 1992. After having the procedure and returning, Smoltz made his ascension towards Cooperstown with a 3.04 ERA over 1056.1 innings, won the Cy Young award in 1996, and had another top 5 Cy Young finish in 1998 over the next five years. If the Braves got that out of Schwellenbach the next five seasons, they would be absolutely thrilled.
After that, any comparisons between Smoltz and Schwellenbach get pretty sketchy. Smoltz had Tommy John surgery right before the 2000 season and had to move to the bullpen for several seasons before returning to the rotation for the rest of his career. Braves fans could probably do without the other injuries afterwards, but they should find some hope in just how well Smoltz recovered from his own bone spur issues when thinking about Schwellenbach's future.