As the Braves desperately search for answers to their rotation woes, AJ Smith-Shawver is next in line to get a crack.

The hard-throwing right-hander began his rehab assignment at the beginning of the month. In his first two outings, he was unhittable — touching 100 MPH on the radar gun and showing off impeccable control as he worked his way up to 46 pitches.

That was in Low-A Augusta, though. In his first rehab start for the Gwinnett Stripers, against stiffer competition, the results weren’t nearly as encouraging. He made it through just 2.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out only two.

The good news is Smith-Shawver ramped his pitch count all the way up to 58 — which, at this stage, is what really matters. Taking some lumps along the way after returning from Tommy John surgery is expected. How he responds his next time out, when he should throw around 70-75 pitches, will give the Braves a much better idea of when he might be ready to contribute in Atlanta.

Because Smith-Shawver still has options, the Braves don’t need to rush him to the majors the way they recently did with Hurston Waldrep. They can let him iron things out in Gwinnett for as long as they’d like until they feel he’s ready. On the flip side, they’re running out of internal fixes for the rotation — and of all the options, Smith-Shawver might have the most upside. He probably won’t have to show much for the Braves to give him a shot.

Smith-Shawver will likely make at least two more starts over the next week or so as he continues to build up his pitch count. At that point, the Braves will consider bringing him up. It might feel a bit rushed, but that’s the position Alex Anthopoulos put this club in when he opted not to spend a dime on starting pitching during the offseason — despite claiming it was the team’s top priority.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)