Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach now among Cy Young betting favorites

If there are a few things Braves fans can hang their hats on so far this season, Spencer Schwellenbach is one of them.

In Atlanta’s only win of the season, the young star threw a career-high eight innings of no-run ball while racking up 10 strikeouts. Schwellenbach even had a perfect game going into the fifth inning.

His stuff is electric, featuring a fastball in the upper 90s with plenty of off-speed pitches to bode. His poise is that of a grizzled veteran, and the numbers back up the eye test too.

Through two starts so far, Schwelly hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings while fanning 14 batters, boasting an impressive 0.00 ERA, 0.29 WHIP, and .068 batting average against. After just 23 major league starts, Spencer Schwellenbach looks like the next Braves ace, and Vegas agrees.

Depending on the betting outlet, the 24-year-old is anywhere from +950 to +1100 in National League Cy Young odds, behind Zack Wheeler and Paul Skenes. About a week ago, Schwellenbach sat around +2500. That’s a meteoric rise.

Everyone in Braves Country is incredibly high on the former second-round pick. I even went as far as to predict that he’d make fans forget about Max Fried. Rightfully so, Paul Skenes is the heavy favorite with odds as high as +145 after a couple of starts. From a stuff standpoint, the LSU product is a unicorn, but it only takes one stint on the injured list to take Skenes out of the race.

Spencer Schwellenbach is everything the Braves could want in a starter, and the most exciting aspect of his emergence is his inexperience. The 24-year-old is just scratching the surface.