Alex Anthopoulos on AJ Smith-Shawver, Braves rotation plans

The Braves will be happy once the calendar flips to July in hopes that their fortunes will change after one of their worst all-around months over the last decade. It also means they are one step closer to getting some reinforcements in the form of injured players returning and, of course, the trade deadline.

Among those injured players hopefully rejoining the club is the hard-throwing right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver. The 23-year-old looked as if he was going to be in NL Rookie of the Year conversations last year before Tommy John surgery abruptly ended his season, but he’s back on the mound and has begun his rehab assignment, with his first start scheduled for this week in Augusta.

“Smith-Shawver was throwing the ball unbelievably last year before he got hurt,” Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said ahead of Sunday’s game with the Giants. “His first rehab start is scheduled for Augusta on Tuesday, so that’s certainly exciting. He was throwing the ball really well in Florida. He looked good… Obviously, it’s a max 30-day rehab assignment. We don’t necessarily normally go all that way, but we’ll see how he looks.”

Assuming there are no setbacks, Smith-Shawver could rejoin the Braves at some point in July. That’s another positive development with some upside for the rotation, though banking on both him and Hurston Waldrep to return from major injuries and immediately perform is fairly wishful thinking. Even without the injury aspect, they are relatively unproven commodities at the major-league level.

But they are options, and when it comes to the options the Braves currently have at their disposal, they offer a level of upside the others cannot match.

“It’s one of those things where we are going to take the five best guys, the guys that are hot,” Anthopoulos continued on the Braves’ plan for their rotation.

Atlanta has never been an organization that’s shy about placing trust in their young arms. Whoever performs is going to get the opportunities, and right now, just about anything is better than what the Braves are trotting out whenever Chris Sale is off. This team needs an influx of talent when it comes to starting pitching, and while some of that can come at the trade deadline, most of the answers will have to come internally.