If you need something to keep you engaged to the Braves over these last nine games, I have something for you. Today, the Atlanta Braves announced they are promoting hard-throwing right-hander Jhancarlos Lara to the majors for the home stretch.
The #Braves today selected RHP Jhancarlos Lara to the major league roster and optioned RHP Dane Dunning to Triple-A Gwinnett. To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta designated INF Jonathan Ornelas for assignment.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 19, 2025
There is not a bigger arm in the Braves organization than Jhancarlos Lara. His fastball sits in the triple-digits, and he pairs it with an unhittable wipeout slider, an offering that ranks as the sixth-best pitch across AAA and the majors, according to StuffPro.
The updated version of StuffPro rates Jhancarlos Lara's slider as the 6th best pitch across both MLB and AAA this season (min 100 pitches thrown) pic.twitter.com/2MXg2vlLH6
— Stephen Sutton-Brown (@srbrown70) September 18, 2025
When Lara is on, there’s really nothing opponents can do. The problem is he’s not always on. Lara is averaging nearly a walk per inning this season, which is why he boasts an unsightly 7.73 ERA over 68.2 innings.
Things have improved quite a bit since the Braves turned him into a reliever. In that role, opponents are hitting just .145 against him with a .580 OPS, but he’s still walking way too many batters to find consistent success at the major-league level. That’s the last piece of the puzzle. Once he cuts down on the free passes, he has all the makings of the Braves’ next dominant reliever, something they could desperately use when looking ahead to 2026.
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Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
