The 2019 Atlanta Braves’ rookie of the year candidates

Return Of The Canadian

Mike Soroka made a strong debut and a huge first impression in what was a short period in 2018 before going down with an injury. However, that strong impression plus his potential ceiling has kept intact his status as one of the Braves top prospects.

MLB Pipeline named Soroka and Kyle Wright as part of their Top 10 RHP prospects while Baseball America has Soroka has the Braves 3rd overall prospect (behind Austin Riley and Ian Anderson).

In 2018, Soroka pitched in only 5 games but in that span, turned in a 3.51 ERA and a 2-1 record. He dealt with 2 DL stints, one for the initial right shoulder muscle strain injury in May and coming back on June 13th before going back on the shelf on June 22nd.

He made his debut on May 1st and was sharp in his first major league start.  That start came against the NY Mets and lasted 6 innings, allowing only a solo home run in the 6th inning to Yoenis Cespedes.

When he came back on June 13th, he also pitched a gem, allowing no hits until the 7th inning…also against the Mets. He struck out 4 in total and allowed only that one late hit before being taken out the game.

However, a little over a week later, he was placed back on the DL. In between, he made another start but only went 4.2 innings for a no-decision outing. The Braves eventually shut Soroka down for the season.

Is He Good To Go?

Now heading into spring training 2019, the 21-year-old was initially reported to have no restrictions but it was then reported that Soroka’s shoulder was bothering him again last week after re-injuring it while weight training a month ago.  L

For 2019, Soroka’s biggest goal is to remain healthy. On Sunday, Soroka said that the shoulder soreness is different from the injury he got last season and that he should be okay and good to go before spring training ends.

If everything goes well, he will be a contender for a rotation spot. As of right now, the presumably set players are Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, and Kevin Gausman. Julio Teheran could easily be penciled in but with his average performance in 2018 and then the postseason decisions, it’s kind of unclear what the Braves want to do with Teheran.

If everything doesn’t go well or at least he doesn’t reach the point where the Braves feel he’s ready, Soroka might open 2019 down in Gwinnett.

When Ronald Acuña Jr. took the baseball world by storm, many people were shocked and even asked how could a 20-year-old by so polished? Soroka pretty much did the same and is arguably just as polished when it comes to pitching.

He also seems to be a bit of a brainiac when it comes to the mechanics and philosophy of baseball. Check out this tweet from Ben Ingram where Soroka explains the difference with minor league vs major league baseballs.