The Braves watched Max Fried and Charlie Morton depart in free agency, which leaves a pretty substantial hole in Atlanta’s starting rotation, but Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t made a single addition.
The Braves need internal options to step up. Spencer Schwellenbach has the stuff to seamlessly replace Fried as a frontline starter, and Grant Holmes could be a wild card that emerges from the bullpen as a reliable starter, similar to Reynaldo Lopez.
Unfortunately, that still won’t be enough. The Braves will likely need another prospect to graduate, and a lot of fans believe it’ll be one of A.J. Smith-Shawever or Hurston Waldrep, but as I’ve said on multiple occasions, Drue Hackenberg shouldn’t be counted out either.
In fact, Hackenberg was the ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel’s choice for the Braves under-the-radar prospect to carve out a role in Atlanta this season.
“Hackenberg probably isn’t even one of the top three Triple-A call-up arms for the Braves right now (likely AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep and Bryce Elder), as he isn’t on the 40-man, but he has the vibes of an innings-compiling midrotation arm, a John Lackey type if it all clicks; every team is looking for this kind of player, so I think he’ll get the call around midseason.”
The second-round pick in the 2023 draft could very well make his MLB debut this season. Across three levels last year, Hackenberg made 25 starts, finishing with a 3.07 ERA, but ended the season in Gwinnett, where he posted a 1.52 ERA across four starts.
The Virginia Tech product has a five-pitch mix that features a four-seamer, slider, cutter, curveball, and change-up. He’s got elite stuff, punching out 144 batters in 129 inning pitched in his first full season of professional ball. He also limited the long ball, allowing 0.14 HR/9. That strikeout rate of 26% combined with a HR/9 under 1% is an elite combination.
However, he had an 11.3% walk rate. Control has been an issue. He limits hard contact, misses plenty of bats, but walks too many batters. And while he can get away with that in the minors, free passes are a death sentence in the majors.
If Drue Hackenberg can hone in on his control, the Braves could see him very soon.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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