Braves top prospect dazzles in return from Tommy John surgery

The Braves have plenty of exciting young arms on the farm, but none of them were pitching better than Owen Murphy last year.

Across seven starts with Single-A Rome, Murphy boasted an impressive 1.54 ERA, with a 0.732 WHIP and 13.2 K/9. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery ended an exciting campaign, but he returned to the mound yesterday and didn’t miss a beat.

Murphy tossed three innings of no-run ball with five strikeouts, but perhaps even more encouraging was his fastball velocity sitting in the low-to-mid 90s, which is where it was last year. Murphy threw his fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup, producing 10 whiffs in just three innings.

I imagine his next start will come with either Single-A Rome or Double-A Columbus, and if he continues to progress the rest of the season, he could legitimately make his MLB debut as early as 2026.