Exciting prospect Blake Burkhalter among Braves’ September call ups

The Braves took Blake Burkhalter in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft with the hope of developing him into a starting pitcher. That plan has since changed because of several injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, which cost him the entire 2023 season.

So far this year, Burkhalter has made 16 appearances for the Gwinnett Stripers, pitching to a 1.48 ERA and striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings. He possesses a very effective fastball that sits in the mid-90s but can touch 98, and he pairs it with a very good slider as well as a changeup and cutter.

This is a legitimate audition. Burkhalter has the kind of stuff that could play at the major-league level, and if he’s effective, there’s a very real chance he carves out a role for himself in October. That would be a massive addition to an already impressive Braves bullpen.

Kyle Farmer, on the other hand, is nothing more than a roster placeholder. He just turned 36 and has spent parts of 10 different seasons in the majors, including 12 games this year for the Braves. For his career, he owns a .247 batting average and .693 OPS over 816 games.