The Atlanta Braves’ quiet offseason has brought Alex Anthopoulos under plenty of scrutiny.

His retort to fans lambasting Atlanta’s lack of aggression is simple: we’re adding an MVP candidate and a Cy Young candidate in Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, who both missed time last season with injuries. It’s a fair point, to be sure, but the Braves sat idly while Juan Soto joined the Mets, Jesus Luzardo joined the Phillies, and Blake Snell joined the Dodgers. ‘Twas not ideal.

Atlanta also lost two key pitchers in Max Fried and Charlie Morton. The former is a perennial All-Star and one of the best southpaws in MLB. This was always going to happen, as Anthopoulos never pays sticker price, but Fried was a homegrown All-Star with a World Series under his belt. To let him walk and simply not seek out a replacement felt like malpractice. The Braves are built to contend right now. There’s no point is waiting around.

That said, what if the Braves can successfully replace Fried internally? That is clearly what Anthopoulos is banking on. We’ve been having the same conversation around Atlanta’s pitching staff for a couple years now. At some point, one of these productive minor-league stars ought to break through, right? Spencer Schwellenbach made a solid impression last season. Now the Braves just need one more youngster to kick it into high gear.

Enter… Bryce Elder? Yes, that Bryce Elder, who put on quite a show in his spring training opener for Atlanta.

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Bryce Elder looks the part of Max Fried replacement in Braves spring training

Atlanta has an incredible volume of young pitchers who are “almost ready.” Ian Anderson, A.J. Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep. There are a lot of guys the Braves would love to bank on, but just can’t (yet).

Elder is the crown jewel of that particular group. He actually made the All-Star team in 2023 before his production fell off a cliff down the stretch. Elder finished that campaign with a 3.81 ERA and 128 strikeouts across 31 starts. Atlanta felt like it might at least have its fifth starter for the next few years. Then, in 2024, Elder hit a new low, struggling to bounce back from his collapse a season prior. He made 10 starts and posted a ghastly 6.52 ERA.

Confidence in Elder has been thoroughly shaken around the fanbase, but he’s still 25. It’s not uncommon for young pitchers to endure growing pains before finding stable footing in MLB. That half-season of All-Star baseball from Elder is still on tape, and now he’s showing (very, very early) signs of meaningful growth. He finished Saturday’s spring training game with one hit, two strikeouts, and zero earned runs allowed across two innings.

We shouldn’t get run away with expectations after two innings, but Elder feels like the most natural candidate for a swift in-house ascent for Atlanta. He forced a lot of soft contact and kept hits on the ground in 2023. There’s something there. The Braves should probably keep their eyes peeled for external upgrades, but if Elder finally breaks through, Anthopoulos won’t look quite so guilty at his pressers.