The injury bug wasted no time hitting the Atlanta Braves in 2024 and carried throughout the season. They lost their top starter, Spencer Strider, after just two starts and as if that wasn't enough, Ronald Acuña Jr. would be lost for the season just two months later.
This plague spread to multiple impact players throughout the season and has made life difficult for the organization. The team was lucky to stay relatively healthy in 2023 which allowed the team to hit their stride.
Fans have also seen the organization juggling pitching workloads to ensure their starters aren't burned out should the team reach the playoffs. This problem has been exacerbated by Reynaldo Lopez being placed on the IL with a forearm strain and the team choosing to skip starts for their star pitchers to get ahead of fatigue and injury.
While the injury difficulties have mostly hurt the organization at the MLB level this year, it has extended into the farm system as well. This is a red flag and draws concern toward a potentially larger issue.
Braves’ organizational injury issues is a major red flag and needs to be addressed
Multiple Braves pitching prospects have suffered from injury in 2024. This points to a growing problem within the organization and baseball itself. Owen Murphy went down in May and needed Tommy John surgery. Murphy was amid a breakout season with an almost 40% strikeout rate when the injury occurred.
#Braves 2022 first-rounder Owen Murphy will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of 2024, per @JonathanMayo.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 30, 2024
The club's No. 5 prospect posted a 1.54 ERA with 60 K's over 41 IP in seven starts at High-A this year. pic.twitter.com/HegJiB4bco
There have also been injuries to AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep. Both spent extended time on the injured list. JR Ritchie just returned this season after needing Tommy John surgery in 2023 nearly one year after being drafted. These are also Atlanta's top 4 prospects and they need to be protected better.
Now, freak injuries happen and sometimes it's unavoidable, but it has become absurd at this point. The team may need to change their philosophy on usage and pitch selection. The focus has been on high-velocity pitches and power breaking balls with extremely high spin rates.
This puts a lot of strain on the arm over time and can lead to major complications. The team experienced this with their young pitchers and with someone as talented as Spencer Strider who is a perfect example here. He throws extremely hard and has experienced two UCL surgeries in five years.
This idea of getting hard throwers is necessary due to the landscape of today's game but it could create long-term issues for the Braves and hurt them in the end. It's great to have a pitcher who can spin the ball well and throw it hard but if you can only get a few years out of them, it seems hardly worth it.
Maybe the team will find a sweet spot and find a way to get longevity from their pitching prospects. But right now, there's good reason to be worried about the ability to protect these players.