Braves '24 third-rounder hopes to be lightning in a bottle twice for Atlanta in AFL

Back in 2020, the Atlanta Braves took Spencer Strider in the fourth round of that pandemic-shortened Draft, even though he missed all of 2019 following Tommy John surgery and made just four outings before the shutdown. He, of course, has gone on to be a Rookie of the Year runner-up and an All-Star (though he did miss nearly all of 2024 with more elbow issues).

The organization is hoping the formula works again. In 2024, they took Luke Sinnard in the third round even though he had missed all of that season following TJ surgery in the summer of 2023. He did return to throw bullpens for teams, as well as at the Draft Combine, giving the Braves confidence the 6-foot-8 right-hander could be a solid upside buy.

When he took to the mound for the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets on April 8, it was his first competitive pitching since he blew out in a Regional start for Indiana in 2023.

“Just gratefulness, it took a long time, a little over 20 months to get back and just grateful to be out there," said Sinnard, currently the No. 16 prospect in the system, when asked about what he was feeling when he returned to the mound. “It's the competition, I really missed it. It's hard to watch. It's easy to root on your teammates, but it's hard to watch your teammates out there competing when you know you can't.”

Outside of missing another month and a half with a right elbow stress reaction – that missed time is a reason why he’s suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League now – Sinnard competed quite well across the Single-A Carolina League and High-A South Atlantic League. Over 72 1/3 total innings, Sinnard finished with a 2.86 ERA, a 10.7 K/9 rate and a .213 batting average against.

He does it with a four-pitch mix, with a fastball that averaged around 93-94 mph and touched 96, both an upper-80s slider and a low-80s curve, as well as an 81-82 mph splitter. He was pleased that while the Braves did work with him on tweaking his arsenal -- reshaping some, forcing him to work more on others -- he was able to lead the way in deciding what worked for him.

“I feel like it's all kind of their process of like, 'Here's what you need to succeed in the big leagues,' and they want us to work on that,” Sinnard said. “But we got a little bit more free will with our routines and what we want to do to get ourselves better, with the coaches chiming in… It just wasn't like that in college. I feel like it was, ‘Do this, do this,' or, 'No, you can't do that’ [in college]. Now you can do whatever you want to get better.”

One thing he won’t be digging too much into to get better is data. He’s aware of it, especially given the fact that his fastball has long been registering high RPMs (leading to 29 percent miss rate on the pitch in 2025, per Synergy), but it’s not something he mindfully works on, nor does he change grips or deliveries to get better results.

“It came naturally throughout,” said Sinnard, who registered nine of the top 11 spin rates at the Draft Combine in 2024. “The first time I noticed my spin rate was in high school, one of my old pitching coaches told me... 'Hey, you have elite spin rates, like upwards, 2,600- 2,700.’ I was like, ‘I don't know what that means.’

“I don't really mess with the analytics. I kind of let the coaches just kind of tell me. I don't care how it moves. If it works, it works.”

Braves hitters in the Fall League

Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B/SS: It’s not often a player who has graduated from prospect status comes to the AFL, but Alvarez missed a ton of time in 2025 with wrist and oblique issues. He played in just 78 total games between Atlanta and the Minors, so he’s making up for lost at-bats. He’s capable of making a ton of contact and getting on base while showing he can play outstanding defense at short and third.

Patrick Clohisy, OF: Clohisy parlayed a final season at St. Louis -- where he hit .380, posted a 1.150 OPS and stole 24 bases -- into being taken in Round 11 by the Braves in 2024. He’s now the best basestealer in the system after racking up 79 steals between High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi in 2025. That’s the third most of any Minor Leaguer in 2025. There hasn’t been much impact (.681 OPS, .091 ISO), but he knows his job, getting on base and running.

Jim Jarvis, SS/2B/3B: Originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft by the Tigers, Jarvis had reached Double-A in that organization this year when he was sent to the Braves at the Trade Deadline for Rafael Montero. He’s a left-handed hitter with solid contact skills (13.8 percent K rate in his career) and can offer good defense at shortstop while being able to handle second and third as well.

Braves pitchers in the Fall League

Jhancarlos Lara, RHP (No. 21): Lara actually got called up to the big leagues this September, but didn’t see any action in either stint. Command is still a huge problem (8.5 BB/9), but the stuff isn’t. His fastball touched 102 mph and averaged 98.5 mph this season, and his upper-80s slider missed a ton of bats, leading to a 13.6 K/9 rate across Double- and Triple-A. He’s likely best suited to a relief role, and he held hitters to a .145 average and struck out 16 per nine coming out of the 'pen.

Trent Buchanan, RHP: Signed as an undrafted free agent in January of this year, Buchanan threw well in relief across two levels of A ball during his debut (2.53 ERA, 10.1 K/9). He can run his fastball up to 97 mph and backs it up with a slider, with both missing bats at a 35-percent rate.

Jacob Kroeger, LHP: A senior sign taken in the 10th round of the 2024 Draft, Kroeger managed to pitch his way into a rotation and up a level during his full-season debut, finishing the year with a combined 1.98 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00 between Single-A Augusta and High-A Rome. He's a strike-throwing lefty who has a chance as a swingman type, mostly using a fastball-slider combination.

L.J. McDonough, RHP: Another undrafted free agent, signed in July 2023, McDonough pitched his way to Double-A in 2025 and has a history of missing bats (11.1 K/9) with spotty command (5.8 BB/9). The reliever can miss bats both with a fastball he can run up to 98 mph and an upper-80s slider, both coming from a funky delivery.

Cory Wall, RHP: A senior sign out of William & Mary in 2023, Wall has pitched largely in relief while reaching Double-A for the first time in 2025, though he did mix in some starts with the possibility of a swingman type role. He has a fastball, slider and changeup, with the cambio a bit ahead of the breaking ball.