David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Braves left-hander Paul Maholm has been cleared to make his first minor league rehab start on Saturday with Low-A Rome. He’s expected to throw about 90 pitches over six innings and may be allowed to rejoin the Atlanta starting rotation immediately after if the outing goes smoothly.
The Braves are stocked currently with good young starting pitchers and will probably have to shift one to the bullpen to make room. But that’s a problem that every major league team would want to have -- not something to fret over.
Atlanta entered play Tuesday with a massive 14-game lead in the National League East standings.
The Braves’ 3.22 combined staff ERA ranks second in the majors, behind only the Pirates (3.16).
