It might be time to see AJ Smith-Shawver again.
After two impressive starts against Miami and Cleveland to open Bryce Elder's 2024 campaipgn, he looked more like game three of the NLDS Bryce Alder against the Dodgers on Saturday night, giving up seven hits and seven earned runs in just 3.1 innings.
He relies on weak contact which for one, is just a bad recipe against a team that is hitting the ball like the Dodgers are right now.
But to make things worse, he was leaving far too many balls over the plate and a good lineup such as the Dodgers, made him pay.
AJ Smith-Shawver spins five scoreless for Triple-A @GoStripers ⚾️
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 1, 2024
The @Braves' No. 1 prospect topped out at 💯 mph and racked up 17 swings-and-misses. pic.twitter.com/4tgCuLQxF6
It's one bad outing following two good ones so it's not time to bail on Elder, but the leash shouldn't be very long. Especially when you have a guy like AJ Smith-Shawver who is pitching well in Triple-A right now, dropping his ERA from 40.50 after the first start to the season to 5.09 after a start last Tuesday saw him throw five innings of three-hit shutout ball.
He's given up four earned runs over 14.2 innings in his last three starts and for the season has a positive strikeout-to-walk ratio through 17.2 frames with 21 strikeouts and nine walks.
He'd probably benefit from a few more starts in the minors to see if he can put together a few more quality starts. However, the leash for Elder should be short with a talent like Smith-Shawver ready to have another shot in the big leagues.
Atlanta will hope to get back into the win column as they welcome the Boston Red Sox and Vaughn Grissom back into town.