Braves manager Brian Snitker announced prior to today's game that tomorrow night's starter for the series opener against the division-rival New York Mets would be prospect Allan Winans.
Winans, 28, made his 2nd career start last weekend in New York against the Mets, holding them scoreless over seven innings, striking out nine. He walked two and allowed four hits, but stranded all six batters across his 111 pitches (80 strikes).
Winans was originally drafted by the Mets - they took him in the 17th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Campbell University, and used him exclusively as a reliever. He finished the 2021 season divided between High-A and AA for New York, pitching in 26 games with a 1.72 ERA.
That wasn't good enough for New York, however, who left him unprotected in the 2021 Rule 5 Draft and Atlanta selected him in the minor league portion. Converting him to a starter, he spent this season in AAA, compiling a 8-3 record in 20 appearances with a 2.79 ERA
Winans starting on Monday allows Atlanta to give Elder and Morton each an additional day of rest, with Elder now penciled in for Tuesday and Morton for Wednesday. The next decision to make for Brian Snitker will be the fate of Yonny Chirinos, who lines up to face the Giants again on Friday night in San Francisco. Winans starting on Monday would take him out of the mix for Friday, and Michael Soroka is unlikely for reasons we've detailed at length, meaning Chirinos probably gets at least one more go at it.
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