With Chris Sale declared out for the Wild Card Series, the rest of the Braves rotation unavailable, and a depleted bullpen, Brian Snitker was put in a no-win situation, forced to start one of Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, or Ian Anderson in Game 1 of their Wild Card matchup with the Padres.
None of them were inspiring options that should even be considered for such a moment. Bryce Elder owns a 6.52 ERA in 10 major-league starts this year. AJ Smith-Shawver only pitched 4.1 innings for the Braves this season, last appearing on May 23rd, an outing in which he suffered an oblique injury. And Ian Anderson, while boasting a postseason track record for the ages, 1.26 ERA in eight career playoff starts, still hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2022.
Despite that, Brian Snitker was always going to have to face the music if his decision didn’t pan out, and he did so after Game 1. The Braves chose to go the upside route with 21-year-old Smith-Shawver, who looked completely out of his element, recording only four outs before the Braves found themselves in a 3-0 deficit, one the offense could not overcome against Michael King and the Padres bullpen.
Before the game, Brian Snitker was asked why he passed over Ian Anderson despite his plethora of experience and success in October.
Snit on why they didn't go with Anderson: "Just the fact Ian hasn't been in the big leagues in a year and a half, pretty much. He's continuing to throw in Gwinnet and can still be an option down the road. But I think it's more that he's in his rehab year is the biggest thing."
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 2, 2024
I understand the nostalgia of what Ian Anderson’s done in the past, and it’s possible Brian Snitker looks upon his decision with regret, given the moment was clearly too big for AJ Smith-Shawver. With that being said, let’s stop acting like it’s 2021.
The last good start Ian Anderson had was three years ago. He hasn’t pitched in the majors in over two seasons, and the last time we saw him, he was getting rocked so badly that the Braves had to send him to Gwinnett before he went under the knife for a torn UCL. Anderson had some promising moments with the Stripers this season as he continues to work his way back, but he looked in no way, shape, or form ready to return to the majors. His 3.96 ERA was somewhat respectable over 10 starts, but there were far too many inconsistencies, and he was walking nearly five batters per nine innings and averaging 1.2 homers allowed per nine innings.
We’ll never know how Ian Anderson would have responded had the Braves called his number, but faulting Brian Snitker and the rest of the decision makers for choosing to go in a different direction is pretty ridiculous.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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