What Each Healthy Braves Rotation Arm Brings to Table

With all the talk about who could round out the Atlanta Braves rotation, it's easy to let those who have already gotten a spot take a back seat. What they contribute to the team is going to do just as much, if not more, for playoff aspirations than whoever ultimately joins them.

Let's take some time to show these locked down arms some love. Here's what these four starting pitchers can or could bring to the table for the Braves in 2026.

Chris Sale

You could arguably just say, he's Chris Sale, and that would be sufficient. If you have serious concerns about his performance, you've missed a lot over the past couple of years.

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He's established himself as the ace of this staff. He's managed to make his combo of his fastball and slider lethal in his late 30s. He's completely reinvented his arsenal since his early star seasons in Chicago.

There were years when his Sinker was his main pitch. Then, his fastball and his slider too over. His changeup has lost some of its effectiveness, and it's joined the sinker in taking a back seat.

If he stays healthy, Sale brings a continuation of his Hall of Fame career to the table. His availability will play a pivotal role in the Braves getting back to the postseason.

Spencer Strider

Some aspects of his game are still to be determined. There is increased confidence that some of the zip and movement on his fastball is coming back, but we won't get a full idea until he's facing hitters in a live game.

That pitch will be a key to determining what Strider can bring to this team. Apart from his primary pitch, he brings a slider and a curveball that miss a lot of bats. The only issue last year was that when those pitches missed their spots, he paid the price.

Since his debut, he's built up a four-pitch repertoire. That fourth pitch is a changeup. Before his UCL injury, it was an effective fourth pitch. Like with his fastball, we'll see if that can be the case again now that he's fully healthy.

If Strider is able to resemble something closer to his full self, then he could bring being a second ace to the table.

Reynaldo López

Using last season as a a reference is a total wash for López. He pitched in one game, and that was it. His velocity looks to be a bit lower than what we saw before, based on early reports from camp.

His fastball sat in the mid-90s before his injury, but it's been in the low 90s so far. We'll have to monitor how this continues to improve. His curveball has been getting more use in Atlanta, and being able to combine that with his slider as his go-to breaking pitches has played a strong role in his success.

It really comes down to whether he can be healthy. Even before last season, there was trouble brewing with some late-season stints on the injured list. If he can bring health to the table, then the Braves have someone who can give them five or six solid innings before handing things off to the bullpen.

Grant Holmes

Never has there been a point when Holmes was posting any eye-popping numbers. His job is to anchor the back end of the rotation. If he can bring an effective arm to the table after rehabbing his UCL, then that will be more than enough for the Braves.

In theory, he should be able to bring more innings to the table than López. Holmes can give the Braves six or seven innings typically. However, it wouldn't be surprising if they have him ease into a larger workload. Get his elbow conditioned slowly.

At the beginning, he'll likely be more of a five-innings guy to start, but in time, he's going to build back up.

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