Earlier this week, it was announced that Spencer Schwellenbach had been promoted to AA Mississippi. The 23-year-old has become a consensus top-five prospect in the organization since being drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and though he missed the first year-and-a-half of his career due to Tommy John surgery, he has impressed at every turn since coming back.
Last night, Spencer Schwellenbach made his AA Mississippi debut in the second game of a doubleheader. The jump from High-A to AA is supposed to be a rather difficult transition, but he went out and put together one of the best starts of his professional career.
Schwellenbach finished six innings, allowing no runs and just three hits with a season-high nine strikeouts. He also only walked one batter, which has become a staple of his throughout his first 20+ minor-league starts.
Spencer Schwellenbach makes quite the first impression at Double-A!
The @Braves' No. 3 prospect tallies a career-high 9 K's through six shutout innings in his debut with the @mbraves. pic.twitter.com/RaBYe3zBXx
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 16, 2024
About the only complaint one might have about Spencer Schwellenbach to this point is his strikeout ability. He hasn’t punched out a ton of batters early on in his minor-league career, but as you can see in the video, he has the repertoire necessary to miss more bats. If that starts to happen, he’ll join Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver in the battle for the top prospect in the organization.
The Mississippi Braves had a doubleheader yesterday. Hurston Waldrep went in the first game followed by Spencer Schwellenbach. Combined, they went 14 innings and allowed just one run with 17 strikeouts. The major-league squad may have put up a stinker, but if you’re looking for some positives heading into the weekend, these arms down on the farm are all trending in the right direction.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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