Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Impressing with Gwinnett

Smith-Shawver gave up two runs on four hits and three walks over seven innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. He struck out eight.

The 20-year-old right-hander has finally been tagged for some runs -- four in 12 Triple-A innings -- after firing 21 scoreless frames between High-A and Double-A to begin the season, but Smith-Shawver is still having little trouble dominating minor-league hitters. Thursday's seven innings represented his longest start of the year, and across all three levels he sports a 45:12 K:BB through 33 frames. The 2021 seventh-round pick has taken a massive leap forward this year while flashing two plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and a big-league debut later in the summer can't be ruled out if he continues to impress.