Can Tucker Davidson earn one of the Braves’ final rotation spots next season?

Previous Prospect Outlooks:

• Drew Waters
• Kyle Muller 
• Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider
• Michael Harris
• Cristian Pache
• Shea Langeliers
• Braden Shewmake

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Tucker Davidson really came out of nowhere in 2019, pitching to the tune of a 2.03 ERA over 110.2 innings in AA before a late season promotion to Gwinnett, where he was equally as effective — recording a 2.84 ERA in his four starts with the Stripers.

Unfortunately, like for nearly all prospects, 2020 was a lost year of development. However, Davidson did get the opportunity to be part of the Braves 60-man taxi squad and even made his major-league debut at the end of the season. Perhaps that is why he didn’t necessarily experience the drop off that many top prospects did, because Davidson began the 2021 campaign red-hot with the Stripers, posting a minuscule 1.17 ERA over his first four starts. This earned him a promotion to the bigs.

Davidson might not have been as effective with the Braves, but he was still pretty damn good. In four starts, he recorded a more than respectable 3.60 ERA, 1.150 WHIP, and 8.1 K/9, which really helped the Braves stay afloat during some tough times. I thought there was a good chance he would stay up in the majors for rest of the season the way that he was going, but then injury struck.

In June, Davidson hit the 10-day IL with forearm inflammation. On the surface, that doesn’t sound too dreadful, but later he was moved to the 60-day IL, and it looked as if his season was likely finished. For almost all intents and purposes it was; however, Davidson focused on his recovery, and by the time the playoffs arrived, he stayed ready just in case that phone rang.

A long shot would be an understatement. Davidson hadn’t appeared in a live game since the middle of June, but when Charlie Morton went down for the season in Game 1 of the World Series, the Braves needed a starter for a potential series-clinching Game 5, and less than 24 hours before first pitch, they decided to turn to the 25-year-old Davidson.

Game 5 will be a moment Davidson remembers forever for a number of reasons, but it wasn’t his best performance. Four Astros crossed the plate on his watch in just two innings, even if only two of them were earned. However, the fact that the Braves were willing to turn to him in such a pivotal moment shows how much faith they have in him moving forward.

I expect Davison to be a primary candidate to fill one of the final rotation spots. Currently, two of them are open, with Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson, and Max Fried as the locks — assuming Morton makes a full recovery, of course. I do expect the Braves to add some veteran competition and perhaps even a frontline starter once the lockout ends, but regardless, there will be an open competition for at least one spot, and if I had to name my two favorites, they would be Tucker Davidson and Kyle Wright.