Atlanta Braves news and notes from Wednesday

Drake Baldwin isn’t the only one forcing hard decisions, as AJ Smith-Shawver showed out in his 2025 spring debut. He wasn’t quite dialed in with his command, but his stuff looked good and was working well. With three strikeouts over 2.0 innings, he may put serious pressure on Ian Anderson for that last rotation spot to start the season. This will especially be the case if Ian can’t keep his pitches in the strike zone with more consistency than he did in his first start…and in the last times we saw him in the majors.

Braves News

Grant McAuley interviewed Drake Baldwin for us ahead of a big year of opportunity for the Braves’ top prospect.

The Braves made another couple of roster cuts, as they have begun whittling down the roster early this year.

Matt Olson crushed a homer to go along with extra base hits from Profar and Kelenic, while AJ Smith-Shawver and Daysbel Hernandez impressed on the mound in a blowout of the Pirates.

MLB News

Cincinnati is still reportedly looking to add a veteran option at the back of their rotation to supplement their young pitching.

Jeff Passan wrote at ESPN about Boston’s approach to hitting development, which is very catered to the modern game.

Jose Altuve is trying out left field this spring, as his defense on the infield has cratered in recent years.