When the topic of Atlanta Braves pitching prospects comes up, a few names tend to dominate the discussion. JR Ritchie is an obvious example, given that he has already made it to the majors, although he will graduate from prospect eligibility soon enough. Owen Murphy and Cam Caminiti have been at or near the top of the Braves' prospect rankings for a while now, and Briggs McKenzie recently got a lot of attention for his early dominance of low-A. However, one name that doesn't come up that often is Garrett Baumann.
Now, Baumann isn't a complete unknown as a prospect. A fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the 6'8 righty has featured prominently on Atlanta's prospect lists pretty much ever since getting his $750,000 overslot bonus. It has taken a little while for his stuff to match his imposing frame, but Baumann's fastball routinely hits the upper 90's, and his slider and split-change have made real strides.
While the attention may currently be on more established Braves pitching prospects in the wake of Spencer Strider's injury, and that may be fair, Baumann's recent promotion to Triple-A and subsequent early success there could mean that he has a better chance of being in Atlanta's 2026 plans than it first appears.
Garrett Baumann is quietly playing himself into contention for a spot in the Braves' rotation
Unless Baumann makes some big-time improvements to his secondary, he profiles more as a middle-of-the-rotation starter that can eat innings. That isn't a knock, but just a recognition of his realistic upside. Baumann has also had a couple of rough starts that have made his 2026 numbers look pretty rough with a 5.10 ERA this season, although they look significantly better when you take out a pair of crummy Double-A starts.
The Braves seemed more than happy to ignore those surface-level numbers and promoted Baumann to Triple-A earlier this month. That decision was almost immediately rewarded with his last start, where Baumann went five strong innings, where he gave up one run on three hits and two walks against six strikeouts.
As we all know, once a guy is at Triple-A, they are firmly in contention for a call-up to the Braves' big league roster. It is true that Baumann would (and should) be behind Hurston Waldrep and Murphy when it comes to the next call-ups, but Atlanta needs a lot of help in their rotation right now. Injuries are an obvious problem, they should probably move Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder may be turning back into a pumpkin. With all of that uncertainty, don't be surprised if the Braves end up turning to Baumann as soon as this season.
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