The last few months have been disastrous for the Atlanta Braves starting rotation, as the club has lost their entire Opening Day rotation to the 60-day IL, and have seen sub-optimal performances from the starters they picked up off the scrapheap or called up from the minors.
But, seemingly out of nowhere, top prospect Hurston Waldrep has emerged as a potential staple for the rotation going forward. After two impressive outings in the bigs, Brian Snitker and the Braves have revealed what their plan for the rotation is going forward, at least for now.
Snitker said he plans to use a six-man rotation as long as he can. They will make adjustments if one of the starters is forced to come out of the pen to cover another starter's short start.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 12, 2025
Braves starting rotation plans
Aside from Spencer Strider, Braves fans likely don't feel much affinity toward the starting rotation. Carlos Carrasco and Erick Fedde were midseason acquisitions off of the scrapheap who haven't impressed in their handful of starts. Bryce Elder has continued to struggle, and Joey Wentz, while impressive in his six appearances, isn't necessarily penciled into the rotation next season.
Waldrep's 5.2 innings in Bristol were impressive enough that Atlanta decided to call him up on Saturday, rather than simply use him as the 27th-man. Waldrep followed this decision by giving the Braves six innings of one-run ball, further proving the Braves made the right decision to bring him up.
With Waldrep coming up and performing, the Braves had the option to cut lose Fedde or Carrasco, send down Elder, or move Wentz to the bullpen to keep a five-man rotation. However, for now, it looks like Atlanta plans on keeping a six-man rotation.
Even with subpar performances from Fedde, Elder, and Carrasco, this is the best option for the Braves. With the club all but out of playoff contention, the goal for this season is just to get everyone through the season healthy.
Strider has piled up the innings since returning from his hamstring injury, and the Braves would certainly love to make sure his arm is fresh going into next season.
Joey Wentz has pitched very well in his five starts, but hadn't started in the majors since 2023 and will likely surpass his 2024 innings in his next start. Meanwhile, Waldrep is nearing a career-high in professional innings.
By moving to a six-man rotation, the are able to limit their starters innings without causing them too much disruption.
Brian Snitker did offer a caveat to the rotation plans, however. If the Braves bullpen needs one of the extra starters to cover innings, the Braves would make adjustments accordingly. What the adjustments would be exactly aren't immediately clear, but it's conceivable that the team would simply drop back to a five-man rotation.
For now, we can expect Atlanta to use six starters going forward, but a bad start and a return of an ace might force the Braves to make adjustments sooner rather than later.