Braves fans will love new pitchers’ "stuff" rankings, though one regret lingers

Evaluating pitching in 2026 extends far beyond a quick glance at the ERA column on the back of a baseball card. Major League Baseball teams have increasingly shown a willingness to look past inflated ERAs when underlying metrics reveal true swing-and-miss ability. In an era where nearly every aspect of the game can be measured, Stuff+ has emerged as a valuable tool for assessing pitching quality, offering insight into just how dominant a pitcher’s raw arsenal truly is.

League leaders in Stuff+ in 2025 were, unsurprisingly, among the best arms in baseball. Among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene led Major League Baseball with a 124 Stuff+ mark. Reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and runner-up Garrett Crochet ranked just behind Greene.

Spencer Schwellenbach was the highest-ranked Brave on the 2025 list, finishing with a 110 Stuff+ score that placed him inside the top ten. Looking ahead, the 2026 Stuff+ projections feature multiple Braves arms, along with a former Atlanta rotation mainstay now pitching in the American League East.

Spencer Schwellenbach and Chris Sale featured in 2026 Stuff+ projections, and sadly so does Max Fried

For those unfamiliar with Stuff+, FanGraphs defines it as a metric designed to capture the “nastiest” pitches in baseball. It uses a decision tree–based model to account for the nonlinear relationships among factors such as release point, velocity, pitch movement, and other variables. In simpler terms, characteristics these characteristics are used to evaluate just how dominant a pitch truly is.

These projections for next season were compiled by Eno Sarris of The Athletic and organized into a ranking for fantasy baseball purposes. Unsurprisingly, reigning Cy Young winners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes headline the list as the top projected finishers. For Atlanta, Chris Sale earned a projected top-10 spot with an estimated 116 Stuff+, while right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach checked in at 17th with a 107 Stuff+ mark.

One notable omission from Atlanta’s future plans also appeared on the list, as current Yankees starter Max Fried ranked seventh despite a relatively modest 109 Stuff+ projection. While it’s tempting to imagine a rotation featuring all three of these dependable starters, that scenario is no longer the reality Braves fans are facing.

The projections for Sale and Schwellenbach are encouraging, but throughout the offseason, fans have continued to clamor for another reliable arm to complement the duo. Interestingly, free agent Framber Valdez ranked just ahead of Schwellenbach on this list, suggesting the opportunity for a meaningful rotation upgrade still remains.