Bryce Elder has been a part of the Atlanta Braves rotation on and off for a few years now. He's never really been able to have sustained success each and every year. It's easy to forget that Elder is just now in his fifth year at the big league level. His first full season in 2023 was extremely impressive and earned him a place on the NL All-Star team.
However, he famously tanked in the second half of that season. That wasn't easy for him or fans to experience. It's hard to forget Pete Alonso's "throw it again" moment. The former Texas Longhorn has struggled to get back to that initial level of success over the last couple of years.
When you take a closer look, Elder's current success is eerily familiar to the first half of the 2023 season. Elder carried a 2.97 ERA over 106 innings (18 starts) with 93 hits, 35 earned runs, 10 home runs, 34 walks, and 80 strikeouts.
The Braves couldn't have asked for a better showing. Unfortunately, he imploded with a 5.11 ERA in the second half over 68.2 innings (13 starts). Elder allowed 67 hits, 39 earned runs, nine home runs, 29 walks, and struck out 48 batters. This was good enough for an overall 3.81 ERA, 4.42 FIP, and .274 BABIP for the season. Not a horrible showing, but it made it very clear that Elder had some things to improve. So far, it looks like he has.
Bryce Elder is a better pitcher now than he was when he made his first All-Star team
Advice from Braves legend Greg Maddux in 2024 could be why he is pitching his tail off right now. Maddux advised Elder to add a cutter to his repertoire, and Elder was concerned initially that it would mess with the effectiveness of his slider.
Let's check in with Wiley Ballard for a great story about Bryce Elder and Greg Maddux: pic.twitter.com/rEd1BIRHXP
— BravesVision (@BravesVisionTV) March 31, 2026
Maddux hilariously responded to Elder, stating his slider was his "swing-and-miss" pitch. The Hall of Famer quipped, "Oh, you're a swing-and-miss pitcher?" to poke fun at the young righty.
Elder is not known for missing many bats. His strength is getting soft contact and inducing ground balls. Well, it took some time, but it seems that the cutter has really made a difference for him. He's only thrown it 11% of the time this season, but it's given him an extra pitch for opponents to worry about.
So far in 2026, he has a 0.77 ERA over 23.1 innings (four starts), two earned runs, seven walks, 23 strikeouts, a .271 BABIP, and a 2.77 FIP. The Braves couldn't ask for more than that out of Elder right now. Even his strikeout numbers have shown significant improvement, despite the focus on maximizing his strengths as a ground ball pitcher.
It's extremely impressive to see. However, there's reason for everyone to be cautiously optimistic. He could easily fall apart and turn back into the pitcher most fans are familiar with. Here's to hoping he proves all of us wrong.
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