The Atlanta Braves announced this morning that they have recalled LHP Jared Shuster from AAA Gwinnett.
Shuster, 25, is 4-3 this season with a 5.26 ERA in his ten starts at the Major League level this season. He opened the season as the 5th starter but was sent to AAA Gwinnett after allowing four runs and four or more walks in each of his first two starts, without getting through the fifth inning in either.
He's come back up for stretches, most notably from mid-May through the end of June. His most recent big league start was August 27th against the San Francisco Giants, going 4.2 innings with four hits and two walks, striking out three and allowing one home run in a Giants 8-5 victory.
Shuster replaces AJ Smith-Shawver on Atlanta's roster. The 20 year-old is 1-0 with a 4.57 ERA in five Major League appearances (four starts). Starting the year in High-A Rome, he rocketed through the farm system, debuting in the majors on June 4th in Arizona. Since his last major league start in the majors, a five inning no-decision in July, he's pitched only three times in the minors as he's dealt with shoulder inflammation. Atlanta obviously felt he was healthy enough after his last outing, 2/3rds of an inning on September 3rd, to call him up and stick him in the bullpen, but he hasn't pitched in a game and indications are that his shoulder may not be up to the task, per this cryptic tweet from MLB.com's Mark Bowman:
Shuster will join the bullpen for now, more than likely following the pattern establish by Darius Vines and Shuster himself in their recent MLB stints - there out of the bullpen if needed, and starting this weekend (probably Saturday) in Miami if not used tonight.
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