We all love a good heart-warming, comeback story. All the stars aligned for the Braves' Michael Soroka to provide us with one in 2023.
After fighting back from not one but two Achilles tendon tears, Soroka made his first appearance on a big league mound for the first time in 3 years back in late May.
Prior to these devastating injuries, Soroka was an all-star in 2019 posting a 13-4 record to go along with a 2.68 ERA. He also finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in Cy Young Award voting, earning the Canadian the nickname "Maple Maddux."
This nickname was fitting as just like Braves legend Greg Maddux, Soroka took pride in pounding the strike zone and locating all of his pitches.
Instead of overpowering hittings with 95+ mph fastballs like most pitchers in the league, he was pitching to contact with low 90s sinkers and letting his defense help him out. Referring back to those 2019 stats once again, it was more than effective.
An Achilles tendon tear is nothing to joke about and tough to recover from. Two Achilles tendon tears in the same leg are almost certain to end the career of any professional athlete. Not Soroka. After a couple of years, his perseverance guided him back to a major league mound in 2023.
Since His Return
This is where it would be much more enjoyable to discuss how Soroka has came back and picked up right where he left off. Unfortunately, that is not the case. 2023 has presented many challenges of its own.
Soroka has bounced back and forth between the MLB and Triple-A this season. He is 2-1 with a 5.52 ERA at the big league level in 5 starts. He also has made one relief appearance where he surrendered 2 earned runs across 3 innings to the Chicago White Sox.
Michael Soroka is showing confidence in his changeup.@PeterMoylan has the breakdown ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/vWsRHjU0QX
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) July 22, 2023
All in all, Soroka has tossed a total of 29.1 innings for the Atlanta Braves this season. With 5 starts, 1 relief appearance, and quite a bit of time in Gwinnett, it appears that Michael Soroka's role with the organization is still in question. Here are some options the Braves could consider with him in the future.