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Braves Suffer Serious Blow After Major Injury To Young Ace

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Eric W. Bolin | Last updated May 29, 2025 9:21 PM ET

Since a terrible beginning to the season that saw the Atlanta Braves lose their first seven games and eight of their first nine out of the gate, things had begun trending the right direction in late April.

May, however, has been unkind. The Braves entered Thursday's double-header against the Philadelphia Phillies below .500 for the month and falling further and further behind the National League East leaders from the City of Brotherly Love.

Pitching had largely kept the Braves around even since that start, even with multiple injuries to former Cy Young Award finalist Spencer Strider. Atlanta went into the second game against the Phillies on Thursday the third fewest runs of any NL team.

But one of the brightest spots on the staff has now gone dark.

Rookie right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver, who started the first game against Philadelphia, is likely to miss the rest of the season after hearing his elbow pop in the third inning. Atlanta almost immediately placed him on the injured list with a strained right elbow and it may be worse than that.

"It doesn't look good," Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

ESPN.com rated Smith-Shawver with the second-highest odds to win NL Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. A seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft, the 22-year-old carries a 3-2 record with a 3.67 earned-run average over 41 2/3 innings. His 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings ranked second in the rotation, behind only former Cy Young winner Chris Sale.

If the injury as is bad as feared, it may require Tommy John surgery, something Strider underwent in April 2024 and only returned from a couple weeks into the season.

“It stinks,” Braves catcher Sean Murphy said. “He’s been throwing the ball well.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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