This continues my 2025 bold predictions series for the Atlanta Braves. If you missed any of the previous parts, follow the links below.
- Braves 2025 Bold Predictions: A Brand New NL MVP
- Braves 2025 Bold Predictions: A late offseason addition
A Trio of Cy Young Candidates
There are some concerns in regard to the Braves rotation entering the season, particularly the depth. Can Grant Holmes successfully make the transition to a full-time starter? Just last year, he didn’t even seem like a guy that would ever stick on a major-league roster. Can Ian Anderson return to form after multiple years out of the majors, or can a prospect like AJ Smith-Shawver finally break out in Atlanta? None of those are a given, and multiple will have to happen because injuries are inevitable over the course of a 162-game season.
However, what shouldn’t be doubted is the upside of the Braves top guys. Chris Sale is fresh off his first Cy Young award. Reynaldo Lopez finished 11th in the race last year and probably would have challenged for first had he not spent some time on the IL. Spencer Schwellenbach is an emerging star, and when healthy, there might not be a more talented pitcher on the planet than Spencer Strider.
I predict three of those guys will finish inside the top 10 of this year’s NL Cy Young award race — Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, and Spencer Schwellenbach.
The only thing that can hold Sale back is his health. When healthy, he might be the most dominant pitcher in baseball, and it’s been that way his entire career. The same could be said for Strider, but I’m very confident in how he’ll return for the Braves, which could be as soon as late April. Schwellenbach doesn’t have the track record of the other two, but his stuff and poise on the mound have the front office giddy about his potential.
However, even if one of those doesn’t live up to the billing or goes down with an injury, nobody should be surprised if Reynaldo López is in the conversation at the end of the year, and I’ll even go one further. Grant Holmes is a dark horse to do some special things this year. It might sound crazy, but this is what the Braves do. I’m not going to be shocked if he makes 25-30 starts this season and finishes with a sub-3.00 ERA, which would probably be enough to earn a top 10 finish in the NL Cy Young race.
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Photo: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire
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