Atlanta Braves Roster
- NL East
- Stadium
- Truist Park
Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly (forearm) was placed on the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation after he was scratched from his start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Manager Brian Snitker said the team hopes that Smyly will miss just one start. Right-hander Kyle Wright was recalled from the alternate training site to start on Friday. He'll be making his season debut after going 2-4 with a 5.21 ERA in 2020. Smyly, 31, is 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts this year, with his last outing coming last Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Infielder Johan Camargo was also called up by Atlanta. Although this injury doesn't sound too serious, Smyly's history of injuries should make fantasy managers in deeper leagues very worried.
Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson had his second multi-hit game and first three-hit game of the year on Thursday against the Miami Marlins. Swanson went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the game. He was also hit by a pitch. Swanson is off to a slow start to the 2021 season. His three-hit effort on Thursday raised his batting average over .200 for the first time this year. He is now slashing .204/.250/.347 with one home run, four doubles, four RBI and two runs over 13 games. His hard-hit rate this year (46.9%) is up from last year (40.7%), but he's striking out at a higher rate this year (32.7%) than last year (26.7%). It's still early and we should expect Swanson's numbers to start looking better soon.
Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his MLB-best seventh home run of the season on Thursday off Miami Marlins starter Trevor Rogers, a day after a two-homer game. His homer was a two-run shot that came on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning that cut the deficit at the time to 3-2. Acuna now has 14 extra-base hits this year, which is tied with Hank Aaron in 1958 for the most by a Braves player in the team's first 13 games of a season. The franchise record for March/April home runs is 12, set by Justin Upton in 2013. The 23-year-old phenom went 2-for-5 on Thursday, adding a run scored, two RBI and a strikeout. Acuna has a slash line of .400/.400/.1000 with 16 runs scored, 14 RBI and three stolen bases. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the majority of fantasy drafts for a reason.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna had a game to forget on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins. Ozuna went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He now has 18 strikeouts over 12 games and 51 plate appearances on the year. His 35.3% strikeout rate so far this year is much higher than his 22.5% strikeout rate last year. Ozuna had his best game of the year so far on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and three RBI, so it was disappointing to see him drop off so drastically the next day. Ozuna is still hitting the ball hard when he makes contact. His max exit velocity of 114.1 mph ranks amongst the top 4% of the league. Expect to see a home run surge from Ozuna soon.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a strained right hamstring. Fried suffered the injury while running the bases during Tuesday's game, though it's fair to wonder if it was something that has been bothering him, as his first three starts have been less-than-stellar. Perhaps the 27-year-old southpaw can use the time off to correct anything wrong with his mechanics. Left-handed pitcher Tucker Davidson was recalled from the alternate site in a corresponding move- though Bryce Wilson is expected to be a prime candidate to replace Fried in the rotation while he recovers.