Time to start worrying about the Braves’ rotation?

Though I did not believe the Braves’ rotation would be a concern this season, other national media experts were less confidence in the team’s depth. Spencer Strider’s season-ending injury has put it to the ultimate test.

To be clear, any club that loses its ace in April will be in a dilemma. Nobody can prepare for it, but the Braves appeared to be more equipped than most, at least on paper.

Max Fried looked like himself again on Friday night, pitching 6.1 innings of one-run baseball against the Marlins. However, he still has an unappealing 8.74 ERA for the season. The opponent must also be taken into account. Miami’s offense is perhaps the worst in baseball.

Chris Sale’s first half of 2024 has been a roller coaster journey, and nothing demonstrates that better than his most recent performance. He struck out seven and worked efficiently for seven innings, but a couple of strong innings resulted in five runs and a loss.

Charlie Morton has had an uneven start to his 40th season. He shut out the White Sox in his first outing, pitching 5.2 innings and striking out six batters. Morton then appeared to be on his way to another brilliance against the Mets before surrendering a crushing three-run homer to Brandon Nimmo, resulting in a defeat. However, Sunday was by far his most disappointing showing. His velocity was down a tick, as he gave up six earned runs to the Marlins’ weak lineup.

I’m optimistic about the Braves, and it’s only April. There is plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles, and adjustments can always be made later in the season if necessary. For the time being, the offense is more than capable of carrying the load, even if that means scoring nine runs to win some nights. Hitting the panic button right now would be a huge mistake.

You would be dishonest if you said there isn’t some anxiety about the Braves’ starting pitching. They have a 5.59 ERA this season and recently lost one of the game’s greatest pitchers.

Max Fried, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton are all likely to improve significantly in the future, but what about Reynaldo Lopez? Can he stick in the rotation for the entire season? Lopez has not thrown more than 66 innings since 2019. I’m not convinced he’s prepared to make 30+ starts. If another starting pitcher is lost to injury, things may get pretty bad.