Kelenic is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.
The lefty-hitting Kelenic typically sits when Atlanta faces off against left-handed starting pitchers, but the young outfielder will cede his spot in the lineup to Adam Duvall while right-hander Emerson Hancock takes the hill for Seattle. Atlanta may just have wanted to open up playing time for Duvall, who hadn't started since last Friday while the club had faced off against right-handers in each of the previous four games.
... See More... See Less
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Seattle.
He was behind the plate for Tuesday's 3-2 loss, so d'Arnaud will get a break for Wednesday's afternoon contest. Chadwick Tromp will start at catcher and will form a battery with starting pitcher Chris Sale.
Lopez (2-1) took the loss Tuesday against the Mariners, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings.
Lopez struck out the side to begin his night en route to tying his season-high in strikeouts. He pitched well overall, but there was not much he could do with Atlanta not scoring until the eighth inning. His one costly mistake came in the third after allowing a two-run blast to Jorge Polanco and the Mariners would tack on a third run in the fourth, which proved to be the deciding run in the game. Tuesday was the first time Lopez had failed to pitch at least six innings and surrender more than a run. He's now given up a home run in back-to-back outings. Still, the 30-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular through the first month, posting a 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 31:10 K:BB in 30 innings. He currently lines up for a meeting with the Red Sox early next week.
Smith-Shawver topped 99 mph with three fastballs during his last start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The 21-year-old right-hander is still learning the nuances of pitching after mostly playing quarterback in high school, so it's not surprisingly that Smith-Shawver is unlocking more velocity. He struck out a season-high seven batters in five innings for Gwinnett on Wednesday, and while Atlanta is limiting his workload by only having him pitch once a week rather than on a regular five-day schedule, he still figures to be an option for the big-league rotation at some point in 2024. After a couple shaky outings to begin the year at Triple-A, he's given up four runs with a 10:4 K:BB over his last 9.2 innings.
Acuna went 1-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases Monday in a loss to the Mariners.
Acuna's wheels were key in the production of Atlanta's only run, as the star outfielder began the seventh inning by reaching on an infield single, subsequently stole both second and third base, and came around to score on an Ozzie Albies double. Acuna also struck out three times in the contest, and he's now fanned multiple times in three straight games, but fantasy managers are likely to mostly ignore that as long as he continues to run wild on the basepaths. Acuna began the campaign with just one steal through his first nine games, but he's since racked up 12 steals over his subsequent 18 contests.
... See More... See Less
Braves' Max Fried: Fires six hitless frames
Rotowire
Fried pitched six scoreless and hitless innings against Seattle on Monday, walking two batters and striking out seven in a no-decision.
Fried was dominant in the outing, racking up 15 swinging strikes and allowing just two baserunners, both of whom reached via walk. However, he didn't get a chance to try to extend his no-hit bid beyond the sixth frame because he needed 100 pitches just to get that deep. Still, he was in line for the victory until A.J. Minter gave up a walk-off homer to Mitch Garver in the ninth frame. Fried began the campaign with two poor starts but has turned things around since, tossing three quality starts among his past four outings. He hasn't given up any runs across 15 frames over his past two starts.
Minter (5-1) picked up the win in Sunday's victory over the Guardians, giving up one hit in a scoreless 10th inning.
The 30-year-old southpaw has already tied his career high in wins, needing only 14 appearances to do it -- he had five wins in 75 appearances in 2022. Minter has been brilliant in his high-leverage role to begin the season, posting a 1.32 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 15:1 K:BB through 13.2 innings while adding three holds to his ledger.
... See More... See Less
Braves' Austin Riley: Could be emerging from slump
Rotowire
Riley posted an exit velocity over 100 mph on three different balls Saturday but failed to get a hit on any of them, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
The third baseman did collect two hits Sunday, including a walk-off single in the 10th inning, but for the most part Riley hasn't been getting results of late -- he hasn't homered in 18 straight games, slashing .222/.317/.319 over that stretch with five doubles, a triple and six RBI. Given the way he's swinging the bat, however, it seems only a matter of time before the 27-year-old heats up. Advanced metrics back up the idea that Riley's lack of production is mainly due to bad luck -- he sits in the 90th percentile in barrel rate on the season, right in line with his 2023 (89th percentile) and 2022 (96th percentile) campaigns.
... See More... See Less
Braves' Matt Olson: Few concerns about slump
Rotowire
Olson hasn't hit a home run in 18 straight games, slashing .167/.291/.242 over that stretch with three doubles, one triple and seven RBI, but he remains among the league leaders in key hitting metrics, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Despite the first baseman's lack of production in April, Olson sits in the 97th percentile in hard-hit rate and average exit velocity on the season, numbers comparable to what he posted during his career-best 2023 campaign. It seems only a matter of time before the 30-year-old gets dialed in and begins racking up hits and homers.
Elder didn't factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks against the Guardians. He struck out two.
Elder came back to earth after a dominant 2024 debut where he held the Marlins scoreless in 6.2 innings. He walked at least four batters for the ninth time in 42 career appearances but was able to keep Cleveland from notching a single extra-base hit. Elder is tentatively scheduled for a start against the Dodgers in LA on Saturday.
D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
D'Arnaud will get a breather as Atlanta wraps up its series with a day game. Chadwick Tromp will get a turn behind the plate in place of d'Arnaud, who went 1-for-6 with a double and an RBI between the first two contests of the series.
Braves' Charlie Morton: Tosses seven scoreless frames
Rotowire
Morton allowed four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Cleveland on Saturday.
Morton and Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee both hurled seven scoreless frames in the contest, subjecting both pitchers to a no-decision despite their impressive individual efforts. Morton notched his second straight quality start, and he appears to be coming back around after allowing 10 runs over 11.1 frames across a pair of outings April 8 and April 14. The veteran right-hander continues rolling along as an effective rotation piece in his 17th MLB season -- through five starts, he's posting a 3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 28:11 K:BB over 30 innings.
