The Braves called up one of their top prospects, Jared Shuster, for a pseudo-audition for a spot in the rotation. Was his outing enough to earn the job?
Injuries to Max Fried, Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson have left the Atlanta Braves, despite being comfortably at the top of the NL East early in the 2023 season, looking for answers to fill spots in their pitching rotation. And they’ve been looking at numerous options in that capacity.
Whether it’s been signing guys like Justus Sheffield or Dereck Rodriguez as fliers to see if they can stick, promoting No. 4 prospect AJ Smith-Shawver to Triple-A after just two starts since being moved up to Double-A, or giving another prospect in Jared Shuster another opportunity to audition for a spot in the rotation, the Braves have been leaving no stone unturned.
It was Shuster’s audition that was in full effect on Tuesday night as he got the nod on the road against the Texas Rangers. After posting an 8.31 ERA and 2.42 WHIP in his two previous starts for the Braves, though, the 24-year-old southpaw had some goodwill to build.
So after giving up three runs on three hits and two walks against the Rangers in an eventual loss, did Shuster do enough to earn the job?
Braves: Did Jared Shuster earn spot in rotation with start vs. Rangers?
On the surface, Shuster’s numbers might not look that impressive. He put the Braves in a hole by giving up three runs in the fourth inning, exiting the affair an inning later. And while Atlanta did fight back late and end the game with four runs, the bullpen was taxed and gave up four more runs to take the 7-4 loss against the Rangers.
Having said that, Shuster’s start was better than the final line would have you believe.
The rookie faced the minimum in the first two innings, issued a walk on the ninth batter he faced, but then got the final out of the third inning immediately after. He was in full control and cruising with a 1-0 lead at the time.
In reality, it was three straight batters that got to him as he started the fourth frame giving up a single to Robbie Grossman, an RBI double to Nathaniel Lowe, and then a two-run home run to Adolis Garcia, accounting for all three hits he conceded and all of the runs away.
But Shuster then got out of the inning by retiring the next three batters he faced in the fourth and retired the Rangers 1-2-3 in the fifth to bounce back.
Granted, that one inning proved to be an issue for the Braves in the long run as they took the eventual loss. Overall, however, it was a solid performance from the young rookie. That still leaves the question of if he earned the spot in the rotation, though.
Despite feeling good on the whole about what Shuster showed, it’s premature to say that he’s the guy to help the Braves pitching staff weather these injuries. Yes, it was positive and you have to come away feeling better, but the truth of the matter is he now has three MLB starts this season and only one truly left anyone feeling optimistic.
Having said that, Shuster definitely earned another opportunity to make a start and earn that spot in the rotation. And even better, one of the many options that the Braves are exploring is definitely still open after Tuesday night.