Before the 2024 season begins, I’ll come up with numerous predictions for the Braves — both of the team variety and individually. There are so many fantastic potential storylines following a historic 2023 regular season, but my early frontrunner for sleeper of the year is none other than 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder.
It’s a bit odd to call someone a sleeper who is coming off an All-Star nomination, but Elder has somewhat become an afterthought when discussing the Braves rotation. Max Fried and Spencer Strider might be the best one-two punch in all of baseball. Charlie Morton has shown no signs of slowing down as he approaches 40 years of age, and the newly acquired Chris Sale could be heading to Cooperstown when he finally decides to hang up the cleats. The Braves rotation is a star-studded group that will force Bryce Elder to compete for one of the final spots on the roster.
However, this is not an unfamiliar situation for Elder. Last season, he didn’t begin the season on the major-league roster, but injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright in April quickly provided an opportunity, one that he took full advantage of in his first full MLB season. Elder’s presence behind Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton was instrumental to the Braves success, as they quickly built a comfortable lead in the NL East that they would never relinquish.
“When I got hurt at the beginning of the year after making my first start, he (Bryce Elder) took my place and then made every single start for the rest of the year,” Max Fried said this past weekend at Braves Fest. “Basically lifted us up when we only had Spencer and Charlie.”
Through his first 17 starts of 2023, Elder posted a remarkable 2.45 ERA. He was a legitimate NL Cy Young candidate for half the season, but what’s still fresh in the minds of many is the way he ended the year. Over his last 14 starts, Elder recorded an unsightly 5.75 ERA, and of course, everyone remembers the final outing of his season when the Phillies shellacked him around the yard in a blowout Game 3 of the NLDS.
Because of the way Bryce Elder ended the season and the fact that he’s not the flashiest pitcher like Braves fans have become accustomed to every five nights when Spencer Strider toes the rubber, many fans have already written Bryce Elder off. Most expect AJ Smith-Shawver to eventually win the job for good, and if not Smith-Shawver, 2023 first-round pick Hurston Waldrep has already begun turning heads on the farm.
The reality is all of these arms will likely get their opportunity throughout the season. Injuries are inevitable when talking about the pitching staff over the course of a 162-game season, and Braves fans should know this as well as anyone. Elder is going to get his shot, and nobody should be surprised if he runs with it, just like he did in 2023.
The experience Bryce Elder gained as a 24-year-old should prove invaluable. He will learn from his mistakes at the end of the season and come back a stronger pitcher because of it. This is a young man that has experienced success at every level of his baseball career. He was a stud at Texas, he rocketed through the Braves minor-league system, and he stepped up for the major-league team when they desperately needed him to last year. The concerns are understandable, but I’m betting on Bryce Elder to once again play a massive role in the Braves success this year.
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