After recent struggles, will Smith-Shawver factor into Braves' postseason plans?

WASHINGTON -- As AJ Smith-Shawver continues adjusting to his return to the Major Leagues following his Tommy John surgery in June 2025, the Braves will continue to evaluate where the right-hander fits in their postseason plans.

In his fourth Major League start since returning from the injured list on July 29, Smith-Shawver completed four innings with five runs allowed on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts in a 9-5 loss to the Nationals on Tuesday. He threw 86 pitches (57 strikes).​

“Obviously, I'm not thrilled with all the results,” said Smith-Shawver. “I'm happy with mostly how the heater and splitter are coming out. I think it comes down to execution and just getting outs. I gotta go get outs. I can't walk guys, can't get behind in counts, and I gotta make them hit it to [the defense] a few times. I just got to have better stuff and keep us in ballgames. It's not very competitive.”

After a 19-pitch first inning -- where his fastball velocity topped out at 97.5 mph -- the 23-year-old gave up four runs on three hits with two walks in the second to give the Nats a 4-1 lead. He then gave up a leadoff home run to Nationals rookie Yohandy Morales, who was making his MLB debut, in the third.

“I think it's just part of execution,” said Smith-Shawver. “I think I got to some good and bad counts, and kind of just left some pitches up that were hittable. And yeah, it just comes down to executing pitches I feel like.”

Already at 73 pitches entering the fourth, Smith-Shawver was able to end his night on a high note with a 1-2-3 frame on 13 pitches. Now with a 7.13 ERA over his four Major League starts this season, is his goal over the final month to prove that he’s healthy or to contribute to the Braves’ pursuit of the playoffs?

“It's trying to win games,” he said. “I think once I got called up it's, 'I'm healthy, so it's time to go get outs and go try to go get wins and clinch this thing.' So it's just frustrating. Frustrating results.”

The Braves aren’t looking too far ahead in their pitching plans with another game against the Nationals looming Wednesday afternoon.

“No, that's too far away,” manager Walt Weiss said of envisioning Smith-Shawver’s postseason role. “This is all day-to-day stuff with pretty much everything. We've got six starters. [Reynaldo] López working his way back, so you got numbers there. But no, it'll be day-to-day with the rotation.”

Blake Burkhalter (Braves’ No. 15 prospect) is another young right-hander under evaluation as Atlanta plays toward October. A September callup as rosters expanded to 28 players Tuesday, Burkhalter made his Major League debut in the sixth inning.

He gave up one run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout, throwing 23 pitches (12 strikes). His fastball reached 95.7 mph.

“Good job by Burky,” said Weiss. “Good arm. He gave up the one run, but I saw good stuff. Good fastball, good breaking ball, hard breaking ball and the cutter. So yeah, I thought he handled himself well.”

The Braves boast one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. But every little bit helps as they look to capture their first National League East title since 2023.

“Our record is what it is,” Weiss said. “We've been really good this year. But every once in a while you have games like this. It's just, I think, magnified when you get to September and you're in a pennant race. So we'll play better moving forward, but tough one tonight.”

The Braves will send Grant Holmes to the mound in Wednesday's series finale against the Nats before going back to the top of the rotation for a massive four-game series against the second-place Phillies in Philadelphia this weekend.

“As long as we win games, we control our destiny,” said Michael Harris II, who hit his second home run in as many games with a two-run homer in the eighth. “Obviously, the team that is right behind us, we play them next. And yeah, it's a key series coming up. So as long as we handle business, that's all we can do.”