The Atlanta Braves have themselves a full fledged battle for a spot in their rotation right now. However, the two guys left standing at the moment, Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd, were certainly not the favorites to win the spot coming into camp. However, the two healthy guys that were favorites, Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder, both struggled this spring and ended up getting optioned down to the minors again. One name that was a heavy fan favorite, Michael Soroka, ended up suffering a hamstring injury that has kept him out of game action so far this spring.
The emphasis here is on "so far" because it looks like we are finally going to see Soroka in action on Wednesday.
#Braves pitcher Michael Soroka will be back on the mound Wednesday against Detroit. Asked if he was excited, the affable Canadian said, “Very. It’s been a while. That speed bump (hamstring strain) obviously was unexpected. But it’s OK.” https://t.co/v31fzGsvXr
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 20, 2023
What can we expect from Soroka in 2023?
To be clear, no...Soroka has no shot of making the team out of camp anymore. Despite the fact that his recent bullpens have gone well, he just doesn't have enough time to get stretched out and ready to pitch in the big leagues by Opening Day. Speaking as someone who has long been a fan of his, it stinks, but it is what it is.
However, it will still be important to see where Soroka is at on Wednesday. Assuming his velocity and command look good, he is going to be down at Gwinnett just waiting for an opportunity to come back up. If history has told us anything, its that you can never have enough pitching depth and assuming Mike is throwing well in Gwinnett, he will get another shot this year.
That is a pretty big "if" given everything Soroka has been through. Coming off multiple lost seasons thanks to two Achilles injuries, we don't actually know if Soroka can get back to being the guy he once was or even close. The list of pitchers that have even suffered two Achilles injuries, let alone returned to action, is almost non-existent, so we are in uncharted territory. However, no one works as hard as Soroka and if anyone can come back from all of this, it is him.