Smith-Shawver (elbow) will start rehab on Thursday

Smith-Shawver scattered four hits, and he averaged 96.9 mph on his fastball while touching 99 with the heater. The right-hander has looked sharp in his rehab appearances, and while he likely needs at least one more minor-league outing as he rebuilds his strength, there’s a very good chance the talented 23-year-old is ready to roll at some point near August.

Smith-Shawver allowed two hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out five. There is no Statcast data at the park, but reports are that he sat 96 mph on his four-seam fastball and touched 100 mph. He threw 34 of his 47 pitches for strikes in what was an incredibly efficient outing. The Braves will move him up to a higher level and presumably try to get him around 60 pitches next time out. Now would be the time to stash him in fantasy leagues since he could return to Atlanta in two weeks. He had a 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 22 percent strikeout rate in 44 innings for Atlanta last year. At the very least, he should be on the deep-league radar.

Smith-Shawver struck out four and threw 41 pitches (29 strikes) in his rehab debut. The 23-year-old former top pitching prospect is working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and figures to be an option for Atlanta’s rotation at some point in late July or early August.

Smirh-Shawver has progressed to throwing high-intensity bullpen sessions and should be ready to face hitters at some point soon. The 23-year-old has been working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He’ll need a handful of rehab starts before he’s ready to return to Atlanta’s rotation, most likely after next month’s All-Star break.

It’s a significant milestone as Smith-Shawver continues working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old former top pitching prospect figures to be ready to rejoin Atlanta’s rotation mix at some point in the second half, barring any setbacks.

It’s merely a procedural move as Smith-Shawver is still in the early phase of his recovery from last year’s Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old top prospect is likely to miss most of, if not all, of the 2026 campaign.

This was always the expectation, but now it’s official. Smith-Shawver might be able to return down the stretch next season, but his rehab would have to go swimmingly.

The latter option is a less-invasive surgical procedure and typically results in a much faster return to pitching as opposed to a full reconstructive operation. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his right elbow last week and is likely to be sidelined until the second half of the 2026 season, even if it winds up being an internal brace procedure.

We already knew that the news wasn’t going to be good when Smith-Shawver was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Friday and now we get the unfortunate diagnosis. It has yet to be determined whether the 22-year-old hurler will undergo the traditional Tommy John reconstructive surgery or whether he’ll get the internal brace procedure which could speed up his recovery timeline a bit. Either way, he’ll miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a large chunk of the 2026 season as well while recovering.

The Braves haven’t updated Smith-Shawver’s status yet, but it’s obviously not good that the team is already putting him on the 60-day IL one day after he got hurt. He’ll be eligible to return at the end of July.