Another positive injury update on AJ Smith-Shawver

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Another positive injury update on AJ Smith-Shawver

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Chase Irle | Last updated Jun 3, 2026 5:26 PM ET

The Braves have a trio of young arms working their way back from injury, with Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver the ones to watch most closely.

Waldrep began his rehab assignment Monday, tossing two scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League. The Braves are treating it like his Spring Training, so it will be at least a month before they consider calling him up, but things are progressing smoothly.

Smith-Shawver isn’t far behind. Walt Weiss said Wednesday that the hard-throwing 23-year-old will be facing hitters soon, the last step before going on a rehab assignment.

AJ Smith-Shawver will be facing hitters soon, the final step before beginning a rehab assignment. He is throwing high intensity bullpen sessions currently and is not too far behind Hurston Waldrep (who made his first rehab start Monday) according to #Braves MGR Walt Weiss.

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) June 3, 2026

Smith-Shawver is working his way back from Tommy John surgery — a considerably more serious procedure than what Waldrep or Schwellenbach underwent before the season. The Braves are going to be much more patient with him, but prior to going down he was among the frontrunners for NL Rookie of the Year, posting a 3.86 ERA over nine starts.

There will likely be some difficult decisions to make when it comes to this pitching staff down the road, but right now the focus is purely on getting all three of these arms back to full strength. If they can contribute this season, great. If not, the club is still in a good spot. As always, these things have a way of sorting themselves out as the season progresses.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

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