Braves Insider Predicts Youth Movement in Starting Rotation

Since it’s never too early to look ahead, some predictions have been made for the Atlanta Braves' future starting rotation. 

The Athletic’s David O’Brien has projected the entire Braves’ 2027 roster and listed the starting rotation as follows:

• Spencer Strider 
• Spencer Schwellenbach 
• Drue Hackenberg
• JR Ritchie 
• Cam Caminiti (lefty)

Both current Spencers in the starting rotation are expected to stick around for the near future while the rest of the rotation continues to get younger. However, Reynaldo Lopez isn’t projected to be out of the organization. By then, he will have pulled a John Smoltz and moved to the closer role. Grant Holmes is also expected to stick around. 

Meanwhile, righty prospects Hurston Waldrep and Owen Murphy will join the bullpen. In a reply on X (formerly Twitter) to a question regarding his absence, O’Brien clarified he predicted that AJ Smith-Shawver will be traded sometime in the next two years. 

Ian Anderson is also absent from the pitching staff. It’s difficult to determine if he fizzles out by then or gets traded - or both. This upcoming season should help clarify this. 

All three of the newest additions to the Braves rotation were ranked in the top 10 among prospects in the system in 2024. Caminiti is a member of MLB’s Top 100 Prospects for 2025 (No. 89). The top 30 for each team will be released in March. This prediction also has Caminiti arriving to the Majors quicker than scheduled. MLB.com has him arriving the following year. 

This projection likely implies that after his contract ends with the Braves, Chris Sale will likely retire. He’ll be 38 come 2027, so it’s a likely scenario. However, some of his peers such as Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Max Scherzer are sticking around into their 40s. Sale could easily wind up on the move elsewhere. If he has truly returned to form, that can’t be ruled out. 

A standout tidbit is how quickly the Braves rotation will get significantly younger. O’Brien didn’t mention the ages specifically, but it’s still noteworthy. 

Currently, the Braves 2025 rotation (using Sale, Lopez, Schwellenbach, Anderson and Strider) has an average age of 28.8 years old. That’s already significantly younger than in 2024 (31.8). 

By 2027, this projected rotation would get even younger with an average age of 24.2 years old. Strider would be the oldest arm at 28. The Braves could be positioning themselves to have a young, talented rotation that can team up to be a force for a good number of years. It also times out rather well with the starting lineup still being in their prime years at that time. 

There are some major benefits to having a young rotation locked up for a few years. They can lock down other pieces long term (or make other bigger moves) with the luxury tax being less of a headache.