Braves Starters Looking Forward to Returning from Injury

The Atlanta Braves had some rough luck with injuries last season. 

Their rotation was particularly hard hit, with 453.2 innings from 2022 - the quartet of Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, and Huascar Ynoa - reduced down to just 108.2, most coming from Fried. 

But in 2024, things should be looking up, as Atlanta's prepared to welcome back both Huascar Ynoa and Ian Anderson from Tommy John surgery. 

Ynoa's in camp and healthy

Ynoa, 25, is the first one due back, as he had his surgery in September of 2022, and is getting towards the back end of the traditional 12-to-18 months timeline for pitchers to return to game action. 

He's seemingly the forgotten man in the starting pitching battle, with conversation about the #5 spot in the rotation reducing down to the returning Bryce Elder, free agent signing Reynaldo López, and top prospects AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep. 

But Ynoa is healthy and driven to be a better player - and person - than he was when Atlanta fans last saw him. 

The last memory of Ynoa that most fans carry is probably one he'd like to forget - punching a bullpen bench in frustration on a May Sunday in Milwaukee after a rough outing, one that saw him give up five runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings. 

Ynoa, who was rocking a 4-1 record and 2.23 ERA at the time, missed three full months with the injury and didn't quite look the same down the stretch of the 2021 season, pitching to an ERA over five and going 0-4 in ten starts. Ynoa was left off the postseason roster as Atlanta went on to win the World Series.  

Ynoa was then optioned to AAA Gwinnett after just two starts in 2022, where he labored all season (5.68 ERA) before finally having Tommy John surgery after the season. 

But he's spent time since then working on himself both physically and emotionally, as he told the AJC's Justin Toscano: "I think there’s some things, even off the field, that I was taking too personally, whether it be a comment or something,” Ynoa said. “And just learning how to deal with that.”

But Ynoa's reportedly stronger, confident, and better able to take things in stride. He's reportedly looked good in spring, something Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed after a recent bullpen. 

"He looks great, I know that" said Snitker to reporters after watching Ynoa throw a bullpen last week. 

Whether or not his stuff performs better is the thing to watch for in Grapefruit League action. In his best season, 2022, Ynoa was mostly a two pitch guy, throwing his 85-mph slider and his 97-mph fastball in equal amounts with only the occasional (6% usage) changeup. 

Yes Spencer Strider functions on primarily that exact same pitch mix, but Strider's individual pitches grade out as two of the best in all of baseball from both a 'stuff' and production perspective. 

Ynoa touched on that in his media availability, part of which was done in English, admitting he was working on getting his slider back to where it was pre-surgery, as well as working on improving hs changeup. 

Despite his belief that he'd be stretched out and ready for starts by the end of spring. Atlanta could opt for either an injured list/rehab stint, an assignment to the minors, or a bullpen role to open the season for Ynoa, who has a minor league option year remaining. 

Ian Anderson due back around midseason

Anderson, who didn't have his surgery until April of last season, had a slightly longer timeline to return to game action, shooting for "midseason" for his return. 

The righty, who was famously five innings into a World Series no-hitter when lifted after 76 pitches on a wet and cold Atlanta night, put in a lot of work on the fundamentals after surgery. 

"When I wasn't able to throw, kind of right at the beginning after the surgery, I put a lot of work into my mechanics. Now that I'm back throwing, everything feels good" siad Anderson at media availability from the team's facility in North Port, FL. He explained that he also dropped his arm slot a bit, coming down from his extreme over-the-top delivery. 

Watching Anderson's progress during his minor league rehab stints will be interesting, as well - while not as limited from an arsenal standpoint as Ynoa, with three pitches that get used at least 10% of the time, Anderson's working with less pure velocity and a less ideal pitch mix than Ynoa. 

Anderson's primarily a fastball/changeup pitcher, throwing his 94-mph fastball almost half (48%) of the time and backing it up with a 88-mph changeup (33% usage) and a low-80s curveball. 

The goal's more groundouts and weak contact than strikeouts, with Anderson hovering around 50% groundballs and right around league average hard hit rates. 

But the curveball, individually, doesn't grade out as a very effective pitch, allowing a combined -5 run value (via Baseball Savant) combined across the 2021 & 2022 seasons. 

But if Anderson's effective and ready to go after the summer, it potentially has the same effect as Atlanta adding a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, one with experience in big moments and a hunger to get back on a mound and dominate hitters once again. 

"It's definitely been a long process" Anderson said of the effort to get back, but it's been useful for him. "I've learned a lot about myself and I feel like I've been able to hone what I'm doing more." 

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