Fears of serious injury when Atlanta Braves starting pitcher A.J. Smith-Shawver left his most recent start on Thursday night have, unfortunately, come to pass.
Mark Bowman, Braves beat writer for MLB.com, reported that the 22-year-old right hander has suffered a torn ulterior cruciate ligament in his throwing elbow. It is initially unclear whether Smith-Shawver’s recovery process will involve Tommy John surgery or the insertion of an internal brace – either way, though, he will be out for the remainder of the season
After a couple of cups of coffee over the previous two, this was Smith-Shawver’s first full season in the majors, and he was off to a solid start. In nine starts – including the truncated three-inning one against the Philadelphia Phillies in which the injury occurred – Smith-Shawver had pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 44.1 innings, giving up a .249 batting average against and striking out 8.53 hitters per nine innings.
A Strong Debut Season Ended Early
Smith-Shawver’s injury came in a bizarre and highly unlucky half-inning. He was taken down to the ground by a hard-hit comebacker by Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott that hit him flush in the ankle, and although he returned to face the next hitter, Trae Turner, he managed only three more pitches before being pulled.
Visibly shaking his arm after at least one of them, Smith-Shawver reported to Braves manager Brian Snitker that he heard a “pop” in the arm. In his post-game comments, Snitker feared that the injury “doesn’t look good”.
He was right.
A.J. Smith-Shawver has been placed on the IL. Here is the full breakdown regarding the ankle come backer, the “pop”, Strider coming over, A.J. being pulled, and Strider with the coaching staff debriefing.
Braves Will Be Without Him For A Long While
Whichever recovery route Smith-Shawver and the Braves elect to go down, the recovery for a torn UCL will be a long one. That said, the Braves have an in-house case study that they can use as a point of reference.
Club ace Spencer Strider was diagnosed with a torn UCL last April and missed the remainder of the 2024 season, returning this April almost a year to the day after his injury occurred. And while he has not been at his unhittable best in his three starts since returning, everything is trending the right way.
Strider, it should be noted, underwent the internal brace procedure rather than the more common Tommy John surgery. If it is determined that Smith-Shawver’s injury can be fixed in the same manner, it might cut six months off of his expected recovery, as Tommy John surgery usually requires an approximately 18-month rehabilitation.
Having lost seven of their last ten games, the Braves currently find themselves with a 26-29 record and in third place in the National League East, nine and a half games behind the Chicago Cubs, who are setting records offensively this season. The pitching staff has been the team’s strength so far this season, with the staff-wide ERA of 3.71 being good for fourth-best in the National League, and the 11th-best in the majors as a whole.
As Strider gets back into prime form, the Braves were hoping a rotation of him, Smith-Shawver, Grant Holmes, Spencer Schwellenbach, Bryce Elder and a resurgent Chris Sale could start rowing back the Cubs’ sizeable early lead. Now, though, they will have to go without Smith-Shawver for at least a year. No more comebackers or popping elbow sounds would be welcome.
Comments
Braves’ Young Starter Out For The Season With UCL Tear