The Braves are desperately looking for anything positive to hang onto right now, and their best hope is guys returning from injury.

After spending some time in Florida, AJ Smith-Shawver officially began his rehab assignment with the Augusta Green Jackets last night, tossing three innings and allowing just one run with four strikeouts.

We missed him🥹🥹

Final line for AJ Smith-Shawver: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K pic.twitter.com/f71eekp8Bq

— Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) July 1, 2026

Smith-Shawver’s fastball sat in the mid-90s for most of the night as he threw 41 pitches — a pretty good starting point for one of the more talented arms in the organization.

The outing marks the beginning of a 30-day window until he needs to be activated, but Alex Anthopoulos said over the weekend it may not take that long. Smith-Shawver will likely look to eclipse 50 pitches his next time out before going for around 70. Within the next few weeks — providing there are no setbacks — he could rejoin a Braves rotation that’s searching for a multitude of answers.

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(Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire)