All of a sudden, the Braves are playing like everybody thought they would to begin the season, winners of four straight and seven of their last eight. Even more remarkable, they are doing it with all five members of their Opening Day rotation on the IL and Spencer Strider struggling severely.
Atlanta’s bats have finally woken up, led by Michael Harris II, who has completely turned his season around since the All-Star break. But they’ve also gotten some pretty outstanding help from a few unsuspecting starting pitchers.
On Friday, Hurston Waldrep made his third appearance for the big-league club, tossing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a 2-0 win over the Guardians. The 2023 first-round selection has made some pretty significant adjustments to his repertoire, and the results have him looking like a staple of the Braves rotation for years to come.
Perhaps even more surprising has been the emergence of Joey Wentz. Once a promising Braves farmhand, Wentz was shipped to Detroit nearly half a decade ago but never lived up to expectations with the Tigers, Pirates, or Twins. Now back in Atlanta out of sheer necessity, with the Braves desperate for pitching depth, Wentz has suddenly begun to flash the potential that once made him a top prospect.
After tossing a one-run gem over six innings last night, Wentz now boasts a 2.60 ERA, 3.11 FIP, and 0.952 WHIP over 34.2 innings with Atlanta.
With three more years of team control left on his contract, Joey Wentz could turn out to be a massive pickup by the Braves.
The rotation concerns going into 2026 are real. AJ Smith-Shawver is going to miss all of next season, Grant Holmes could as well, and it’s unlikely the club views Reynaldo Lopez as a starting pitcher anymore. Having a guy like Wentz in the fold, who is cheap and has experience as both a starter and reliever, is a tremendous commodity, especially if he’s pitching like this.
As we’ve seen over the last several seasons, it takes 9-10 starting pitchers to make it through the year. Joey Wentz may not be in the conversation for the 2026 Opening Day rotation, but he could be a valuable depth piece next year that can start in a pinch when needed.
