The Braves used a 2025 seventh-round pick on Zach Royse, and it’s already the kind of selection that could age well. Baseball America highlighted Royse as a 2026 breakout watch because Atlanta has been working to expand his arsenal beyond a fastball/slider foundation — the exact type of development that can turn a college arm into a legitimate relief prospect.
What’s interesting is there aren’t even pro numbers to hype up yet.
At UTSA in 2025, Royse looked like a pitcher with the ingredients but not the finished meal. He threw 94 innings, struck out 83, and went 9-5 with a 5.17 ERA. On paper, that ERA is going to make some people shrug. But college numbers can be noisy, and the strikeout volume plus workload screams there’s something there to shape.
Zach Royse could become the Braves’ sneaky bullpen surprise from the 2025 draft
The real bet Atlanta is making is about translation. Baseball America’s note is the key: the Braves have been pushing to add more depth to the mix. A two-pitch college profile can bully lineups on weekends, but pro ball eventually demands an answer for what happens the third time through the order, or when hitters can sit on one lane.
If Royse shows up in 2026 with even a serviceable third option — a changeup or a cutter that steals weak contact, anything that keeps hitters from just hunting one shape — the Braves suddenly have a classic Atlanta development story: mid-round arm, tightened plan, quick-moving bullpen weapon.
That’s why this is a breakout candidate, not a long-term mystery. Relief pitching is the shortest path from “who?” to “where did they find this guy?” And the Braves have made a habit out of turning that question into an advantage.
If Royse’s first pro stat line pops, it won’t come out of nowhere. It’ll be the moment the rest of the sport catches up to what Atlanta’s been building in the dark.