Braves rookie AJ Smith-Shawver tore UCL in injury Spencer Strider appeared to catch
MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported the diagnosis hours after the Braves placed the Rookie of the Year candidate on the 60-day IL. It has reportedly not been determined if he will undergo Tommy John surgery or the newer internal brace procedure, which requires less rehab time, but both surgeries will knock him out until at least the start of the 2026 season.
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The injury occurred during Smith-Shawver's start on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies. He encountered his first misfortune when a 96.6 mph line drive from Bryson Stott hit him in the ankle, but he remained in the game.
During his next few pitches to Trea Turner, Smith-Shawver started to wince and shake his arm. The Braves coaching staff only appeared to notice the issue after another pitcher, Spencer Strider, saw what was happening and pointed it out to them. Strider has his own experience with elbow issues, having missed most of 2024 with a torn UCL.
Turner flied out on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, and it was only after that when Smith-Shawver reportedly told Snitker he felt a "pop" in his elbow.
Smith-Shawver's velocity was dropping significantly while all that was happening. His last pitch to Stott was a 95.8 mph four-seamer, a tick below every other four-seamer he had thrown that day. The velocity kept dropping against Turner, with his four-seamer going from 95.9 mph to 94.7 mph to 94.2 mph on the final pitch.
AJ Smith-Shawver's Rookie of the Year campaign is officially over. (Photo by Abdoul Sow/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Abdoul Sow via Getty Images)
Whether Braves coaches should have been more proactive — or aware — of Smith-Shawver's troubles, the 22-year-old is a notable loss for a team trying to recover from a slow start.
Smith-Shawver was ranked as the No. 83 overall prospect by Baseball America entering this season and was off to a strong enough start that he was third in BetMGM's NL Rookie of the Year odds as of Thursday. Now, the Braves will have to wait until next year, at least, to see him on the mound again.
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