The Atlanta Braves have to hope their starting rotation holds with all of the injuries to their pitching depth this spring. Reynaldo Lopez is one of the key parts of the rotation, and the Braves desperately need him to remain healthy this season. There have been concerns this spring that his velocity was going to be lower than expected. He was sitting between 87 to 90 mph on his fastball.
When this occurred, Lopez attributed it to an issue with his mechanics and not an issue with his arm. It's hard to fault anyone for being concerned he was hurt after the number of injuries Atlanta has dealt with the last couple of years. So fans had their eyes on Lopez during his first start against the Royals on Saturday. His fastball velocity would either give them relief or panic. And the fan base deserved a break at this point.
Luckily, Lopez's velocity sat at 94 mph and even touched 97 at one point. That allowed the Braves and their fans to breathe a sigh of relief about the righty. He will have to sustain this most of the season, and that's probably why Atlanta plans to run with a six-man rotation to start the season.
Lopez has maintained his velocity through the first three innings. 4-seam avg. First inning (94.6 mph), Second inning (94.3 mph), Third inning (94.4 mph)
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 28, 2026
Concerns about Reynaldo Lopez's velocity from spring training did not carry over to his first start
Seeing Lopez velocity maintain the same average all night will ease any concerns of his shoulder health... for now. That will be something we keep an eye on throughout the season.
It was a great night for Lopez as he tossed six innings, with one run allowed, three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. The Royals did make some hard contact, but Lopez's defense helped ensure things didn't get out of hand.
There were great plays made by Drake Baldwin and Mauricio Dubon that helped keep his workload low. Unfortunately, he started the seventh inning and allowed a solo homer to end his night. Hard to blame Walt Weiss for letting him start the inning with 76 pitches thrown.
This first start is exactly what the Braves needed to see from Lopez. He looks good and answered the questions surrounding him. The Braves have to hope he can maintain this velocity and stay healthy during the entire season.