Bryce

Elder

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.

Elder spotted his sinker and slider well low-and-away from this left-handed heavy Phillies lineup. He wasn’t able to put many hitters away, but they struggled to square him up or put any runs on the board. This now makes four out of six starts by Elder where he allowed two runs or fewer. On the flip side, he was hammered for 13 runs in those other two starts which came against the White Sox and Marlins. It’ll be a risky proposition to consider him next time out when he faces the Mariners at home.

Both runs came on a second-inning homer from Mark Vientos. Elder allowed just two other hits, walked two and struck out six. He has two quality starts against the Mets and one against the Reds this month, but since he gave up a total of 13 runs to the White Sox and Marlins, his ERA has held pretty steady since the end of July, decreasing only from 6.29 to 6.12. He’ll likely face the Phillies next weekend.

It’s unclear if he’ll pitch on Monday or Tuesday against the Mets, but he won’t pitch on Sunday as he had previously been scheduled. Cal Quantrill will slot into the Braves’ rotation on Saturday with Bryce Elder taking the ball on Sunday.

The 26-year-old right-hander walked two and struck out three batters on the night. The White Sox got to him for three runs in the third inning — the final two on a two-run double by Kyle Teel — but Elder still strolled into the fifth inning with a 4-3 advantage. That is until the White Sox erupted for five more to chase him and put the game seemingly out of reach. Elder got seven swings and misses on 84 pitches on the night, registering an uninspiring CSW of 25 percent. He’ll try to pick up the pieces as he carries a 6.29 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and a 90/43 K/BB ratio (111 2/3 innings) into Monday’s matchup against the Marlins in Miami. His rotation spot also seems to be in serious jeopardy once Chris Sale is ready to return.

Elder bounced back nicely from his shaky — at best — start Friday against the Marlins. He struck out six, and he scattered five hits while allowing a solo homer in the third to Francisco Lindor and two more runs in the sixth. It was a solid effort, but there just haven’t been enough of these in 2025. A 5.89 ERA is pretty obvious evidence of that. He’ll try and repeat this effort against the White Sox next week.