All things considered, AJ Smith-Shawver has earned the right to have an off night given how well he has played for the Atlanta Braves this year. Before his start against the Nationals on Thursday, Smith-Shawver had not only posted an excellent 2.33 ERA through his first 38.2 innings in 2025, but he, along with Drake Baldwin, had garnered increasingly more Rookie of the Year buzz. Unfortunately, the timing of Smith-Shawver's rough start and the potential fallout for their bullpen almost couldn't be worse.
Again, every pitcher is going to have nights like Thursday over the course of a season and no one should be looking to send AJSS back to the minor leagues over one start. However, Smith-Shawver only throwing three innings while giving up seven runs meant that the Braves' bullpen had to cover into the 10th inning. All of a sudden, the Braves' relief corps do not look particularly fresh as a group heading into a really tough series against the Padres.
AJ Smith-Shawver's short start may force Braves into less than optimal bullpen decisions
Here is the root of the problem. After Smith-Shawver came out of the game, the Braves had to use six relievers with five of them throwing at least one inning. Enyel De Los Santos and Raisel Iglesias were at least efficient and Dylan Lee gave up the game winner after five pitches, but all of these guys also had to get warm and guys like Aaron Bummer, Daysbel Hernandez, and Pierce Johnson are probably going to have to be avoided on Friday if at all possible after longish appearances.
This is not where you want to be heading into a home series that Atlanta absolutely needs to win against San Diego. The Braves have fallen below .500 again and with a pretty tough stretch of their schedule coming up with series against a load of playoff contenders all the way into the middle of June. If Atlanta can't get on the board against a struggling Padres squad, this could be a tough few weeks ahead.
That said, there are some causes for optimism here. The Braves did have off days on Monday and Wednesday, so their bullpen may be fresh enough even after heavy usage on Thursday to weather any potential problems. The Braves are also getting Ronald Acuña Jr. back which should, at minimum, be a nice energy boost even if he needs time to knock the rust off. One just hopes that that is going to be enough and Atlanta didn't enter the San Diego series with one arm tied behind their back.