Bryce

Elder

The 26-year-old right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came as Braiden Ward plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the third inning. Aside from that, Elder was superb. He got nine swings and misses on 78 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 31 percent. For the spring, he now holds a 4.73 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 12/5 K/BB ratio over 13 1/3 innings. As is often the case, Elder is likely to occupy a spot in the Braves’ rotation to open the season due to the plethora of injuries they are once again dealing with.

There had been optimism after initial tests that the 28-year-old hurler was going to be able to avoid significant injury, but unfortunately that’s not the case. The Braves will now have to scramble to add depth to replace Wentz in their starting rotation mix. His injury could open the door for Bryce Elder to secure the fifth spot in the team’s Opening Day rotation.

Elder walked three, which just doesn’t fly form someone as hittable as he is. If Joey Wentz is out of the mix after injuring his knee today, Elder’s rotation chances would improve. There’s little in the way of fantasy potential here, though.

Elder has opened up with five scoreless innings as he tries to secure the fifth spot in Atlanta’s rotation. He gave up six hard-hit balls today, but he was able to limit the Tigers to three singles, and he walked no one.

Assuming the current group stays healthy, there’s probably one rotation spot available in Atlanta for Elder, Martín Pérez, Carlos Carrasco, Joey Wentz, José Suarez and anyone else who steps up. Elder figures to make the team either way, since he’s out of options, but he’d surely prefer to be a starter.

Elder allowed two homers among his six hits, and he didn’t issue a walk. It’s the final start of the season for the 26-year-old in what was an uneven — at best — campaign for the right-hander. He finishes with a 5.30 ERA along with a 131/51 K/BB ratio across 156 1/3 innings. Elder should have a spot in the Atlanta rotation to open 2026, but it’ll be hard to justify him as a fantasy option to begin that campaign.

Elder piled up six strikeouts on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. The Braves staked him to an early six-run lead and all he needed to do was keep the train on the tracks to earn a victory on this one. The only blemish on his night was a solo homer off the bat of Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning. The 26-year-old right-hander got nine whiffs on 98 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll look to finish the season strong as he carries a 5.36 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and a 124/51 K/BB ratio (149 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Nationals.

At least he helped out fantasy managers in the strikeout department, punching out seven batters on the evening while issuing three free passes. The Astros jumped on him for three runs in the second inning then continued the onslaught with three more in the third — capped off by a two-run blast from Christian Walker. Elder got 17 swings and misses on 89 pitches in the game — 13 of those on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 35 percent. He’ll attempt to get back on track as he carries a 5.56 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a 118/51 K/BB ratio (142 1/3 innings) into Friday’s matchup against the Tigers in Detroit.

Elder was staked to a three-run cushion by the second inning, which was more than enough for him as he kept Chicago off the scoreboard entirely until the seventh inning when reliever Pierce Johnson allowed an inherited runner to cross the plate. The underrated 26-year-old hurler has reeled off four consecutive quality starts and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his last eight outings since August 1. He’ll face the Astros on Sunday to close out a two-start week.

What a gem by Elder. The only reason the Cubs were able to muster one run against him is because Eli White tried to throw behind Ian Happ at first base after a bloop hit to left field and sailed it out of play. Otherwise, just one Cub reached scoring position as they were hopeless against Elder. He commanded his sinker beautifully along the edges of the plate and it set up both his changeup and slider to dart below the zone. Elder has now made three consecutive fantastic starts against the Mets, Phillies, and Cubs after getting hammered for eight runs by the White Sox. That’s baseball for you. He’s scheduled for a rematch against these same Cubs next week.