2021 Outlook On The Braves Starting Rotation

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In Major League Baseball, having a good starting rotation and a dependable bullpen seems to be a staple of recent success. For example, look at the last five World Series Champions: The Chicago Cubs in 2016, The Houston Astros in 2017 (we’ll ignore the cheating for the purpose of this article), The Boston Red Sox in 2018, The Washington Nationals in 2019, and most recently and most painful, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. Each of these teams had very solid rotations with an effective bullpen. It has become one of the keys to success. The question at hand is, “Is the Atlanta Braves’ 2021 pitching staff good enough to win a World Series?”

First off, I understand it’s a little early to begin talking about World Series aspirations in February, but as an avid fan who misses Braves baseball, it’s hard not to. Especially when the team was up 3-1 in the NLCS against the eventual champions only 4 months ago. So, let’s begin with a rotation that was already suitable last season. Heading into this new season, no major rotational pieces were lost. While Cole Hamels and Mike Foltynewicz won’t be a part of the 2021 roster, the pair had very little to no impact on the diamond last season, so this is not a big loss. However, the Braves made it a priority to add to the depth of the starters this offseason. 

New Additions

On November 16, the Braves signed left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly to a one year contract worth $11 million. At 31 years old, Smyly’s production hasn’t been anything significant yet in his career, posting a record of 35-35 with a 4.13 ERA. However, there’s still upside with Smyly, as he’ll have the ability to improve and prove himself to the rest of the league while providing necessary depth to the Braves. Only 8 days later, the Braves added another starting pitcher, signing right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton to a one year, $15 million deal. While Morton is 37, he’s coming off two productive seasons, posting an 18-8 record with a 3.33 ERA over that span. Perhaps the best part of Morton’s game is that he’s an exceptional postseason pitcher, a key ingredient for the Braves to be crowned champions for the first time since 1995. 

A Return To Full Health

And perhaps the best addition to our 2021 rotation actually isn’t an addition at all. 23 year old ace, Mike Soroka, should be returning to full health very soon following an Achilles tear in August of 2020. We don’t know exactly when he might be back to 100%, but even if it’s not opening day, there’s no need to rush him with the league returning to a full 162 game slate. When he is fully healthy, the 6’5 right-handed pitcher should be at the top of our rotation as he looks to build upon an impressive start to his career. 

Rotation Outlook

So heading into 2021, this is what I expect the starting rotation could look something like when fully healthy:

1.  Mike Soroka
2.  Max Fried
3.  Charlie Morton
4.  Ian Anderson
5.  Kyle Wright

Obviously, there could be some fluctuation in who starts where in the rotation, and we could even see Tucker Davidson or Drew Smyly take on that 5th spot to round out the rotation. There’s no doubt that this rotation is much improved from 2020 and has the potential to be one of the best in the league. Braves fans everywhere should be extremely excited about the potential of our pitchers in 2021.