2 reasons why a six-man rotation is a bad idea
1. The Braves would be taking away innings from Cy Young candidates
FanGraphs estimates that a six-man rotation takes away roughly 30 innings from the other five starters. While Braves fans would love to get 160 innings out of Chris Sale, losing 60 innings from Spencer Strider and Max Fried (if 100 healthy) could hurt the team's success.
Bryce Elder and Reynaldo Lopez are certainly better than a typical starter, but is it worth unnecessarily limiting potential Cy Young candidates' innings?
2. Would the bullpen be managed well enough?
The Braves bullpen can handle the innings, but would the coaching staff manage it effectively? Brian Snitker has made huge strides as a manager since taking over the job in 2016, but he's still made some baffling decisions as recently this NLDS.
The cherry on top was Snit leaving Elder in there for 2 more batters before going to get him. 6-1 game. Amateur hour.
— Scott Coleman (@scottcoleman55) October 11, 2023
Could Snitker properly utilize a shorter bullpen and manage six starters' workloads effectively? Is going with a six-man rotation even worth the risk?
If the Braves want to benefit from giving their starters more rest early in the season, then going with a six-man rotation is a great option.
However, if the Braves front office doesn't believe that management can properly handle the bullpen while featuring a six-man rotation, and if they believe getting more innings out of their aces is the best way to make the postseason, then they should skip out and stick with the traditional five-man rotation.
Atlanta is set up for a successful season and things look promising so far during spring training but it's a long season and anything can happen. If the Braves rotation stays healthy, there is plenty of reason to believe they are one of baseball's best.