Tough steps for A.J. Minter and Ian Anderson disclosed

On Monday, the Braves received more bad news: Ray Kerr will have Tommy John surgery.

It’s been one thing after another this season, but there are a handful of promising developments on the farm involving A.J. Minter and Ian Anderson.

Minter was admitted to the IL a few weeks ago for what was later discovered to be a hip impingement. However, his rehab assignment began over the weekend in Rome, where he struck out three and allowed one unearned run. According to Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Minter will return to Gwinnett on Tuesday.

“Braves reliever A.J. Minter has had his rehab assignment transferred from High-A Rome to Gwinnett, and is scheduled to pitch for the Triple-A Stripers Tuesday when they host Memphis at Coolray Field,” declares Toscano.

If all goes well on Tuesday, A.J. Minter may be back with the Braves by the end of the week, possibly joined by Ian Anderson in the not-too-distant future. Anderson made his first appearance since August 2022 last week, having had Tommy John surgery. He pitched two flawless innings with four strikeouts in the Florida Complex League, then he pitched again today, allowing one run and three strikeouts over three innings.

Perhaps most impressively, Anderson’s stuff appears to be pretty comparable to where it was pre-injury, at least in terms of velocity. He has been throwing about 94 mph with his fastball and 88 mph with his changeup.

According to Justin Toscano, Anderson will pitch for a Braves affiliate on Sunday. However, it is unclear which one.

That’s two major pieces on their way back to the Braves. A.J. Minter has been the Braves’ finest reliever for the past few seasons. Though his performances have been good this season, his velocity has been reduced slightly, which he believes is due to the injury. It’s possible he’ll return even stronger.

Whatever Ian Anderson provides the Braves this season should be regarded as icing on the cake. Given what has happened in recent years, no one should have high expectations, but he is still a very talented 26-year-old who is already one of the Braves’ most decorated postseason pitchers in franchise history. A complete reset and some time off might be just what he needed to get his career back on track.