Braves rookie AJ Smith-Shawver undergoes Tommy John surgery, team confirms
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL on Monday, the team confirmed. The procedure was performed by rebound surgeon Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman originally reported the diagnosis hours after the Braves placed the Rookie of the Year candidate on the 60-day IL. He will miss the remainder of the 2025 MLB season in recovery from the injury.
Advertisement
The injury occurred during a Smith-Shawver's start against the Philadelphia Phillies in late May. 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 appeared to notice the issue only 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 when the injury occurred. Now, the Braves will have to wait until next year, at least, to see him on the mound again.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
30 minutes ago
- New York Post
Chase Johnson, only black player in US Open field, looks to grow game with APGA Tour
OAKMONT, Pa. — If you're looking for a lesser-known player for whom to root at this week's U.S. Open, Chase Johnson isn't a bad option. Johnson, who competes on the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a circuit that provides opportunities for minority players, got into the field as the last of the 156 in it. Advertisement He was involved in a five-for-one playoff for the last spot at the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier, but ended up as the first alternate — ahead of PGA Tour winners Eric Cole, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler. He got into the field when Bud Cauley became fully exempt via the Top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 9. Cauley was one of the six qualifiers in Columbus. Advertisement With Tiger Woods his idol growing up, it's not lost on Johnson that he's the only black player in the field this week. 'That's one of the missions of the APGA Tour, which is great,'' Johnson said. 'I was able to kind of rebuild my platform a little bit out there on that tour starting in 2023, after I lost my Korn Ferry Tour card. Guys are getting great out there, and Willie Mack [another APGA player] played in the Open last year and qualified. 'It's just a matter of time. Like all these Pathway guys, like their version of PGA TOUR U, is developing some really strong players. We're going to keep on working on it, but hopefully I can continue to build my platform and build that platform for other players to just continue to grow the game.'' Chase Johnson, who qualified for the U.S. Open, hits a shot on the 13th tee during his June 11, 2025 practice round. Getty Images Advertisement Johnson wasn't daunted at playing against established PGA Tour players in the qualifier because he's played against these players since he was a youth. 'I definitely was the underdog in the playoff, but I didn't feel it like that way at all,'' he said. 'We all played together on Korn Ferry for two years. Then being on the Cobra Puma team, I've gotten to know Rickie to a certain extent over the last couple years, and then did an event for Tiger's Jr. Invitational last fall with Max. So. there was some familiarity with all the players.' Johnson noted he's even competed against world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Chase Johnson Johnson competes on the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a circuit that provides opportunities for minority players. Getty Images Advertisement 'Scottie and I are the same age, and I've been playing against him since we were juniors,'' he said. 'Obviously, he's figured something out a lot quicker than I did. But eventually I'll get to the point that I want to be at.''
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Spencer Schwellenbach Picks up Complete-Game Win Against Brewers
Spencer Schwellenbach Picks up Complete-Game Win Against Brewers originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Atlanta Braves picked up a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers today, with Braves' pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach getting the win after pitching a complete game. The Saginaw, Mich native punched out nine batters and allowed only five hits in his first ever complete game pitched at any level. The win brings Schwellenbach's record to 5-4 for the year, with an ERA of 3.11 Advertisement It was an efficient outing for Schwellenbach, who pitched 76 strikes in 105 pitches and only gave up one home run to deliver Atlanta the victory. This win puts the Braves at 29-38 this season, and gives them a 2-1 series win over Milwaukee Ronald Acuna Jr and Michael Harris II led the way for the Braves offensively with a home run and two RBIs each, while Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin added RBIs of their own. Schwellenbach stayed strong throughout the game, striking out two of three batters in the final inning. His final pitch, which was grounded out by Jake Bauers, clocked in at 104 miles per hour. This was Schwellenbach's first outing since June 6, when he pitched six innings in a loss to the San Francisco Giants, striking out four batters but giving up six hits before being pulled. Advertisement Complete games for pitchers are getting increasingly rarer, as more thought is being put into protecting pitchers' arms. Schwellenbach's outing marks only the ninth time this season a player has pitched a complete game. The most recent was only a day prior, when Cincinnati Reds Pitcher Andrew Abbott went the distance in a 1-0 win against the Cleveland Guardians, in his first-ever complete game. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Teoscar Hernández hits a 3-run homer and the Dodgers beat the Padres 5-2 to win the series
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Teoscar Hernández broke a sixth-inning tie with a three-run homer and Michael Conforto also went deep for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday to take two of three games in the first series this season between the NL West rivals. The defending World Series champions bounced back from Tuesday night's 11-1 loss, a rout so bad for the pitching-strapped Dodgers that utilityman Kiké Hernández pitched the final 2 1/3 innings after starter Matt Sauer threw 111 pitches. Rookie right-hander Ben Casparius got through four innings in his second start of the season, with just one rough patch. He allowed five straight Padres to reach in the second but they got just one run, thanks largely to center fielder Andy Pages throwing out Gavin Sheets at the plate on a 99 mph throw on the fly to catcher Will Smith. After allowing three straight singles, Casparius walked consecutive batters, including No. 9 hitter Martín Maldonado with the bases loaded. Fernando Tatis Jr. then flied out on the first pitch to end the threat. Conforto homered to left-center off Randy Vásquez with one out in the fifth, his fourth. Hernández hit a 420-foot shot to straightaway center field off Jeremiah Estrada with one out in the sixth, his 11th. Freddie Freeman was aboard on a single off Adrian Morejon (3-3), and Smith drew a walk from Estrada. After pulling to 4-2 on Sheets' sacrifice fly in the sixth, the Padres blew another prime scoring chance when Michael Kopech walked the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. Anthony Banda came on and retired three-time batting champion Luis Arraez on a weak popup and Manny Machado on a grounder. Key moment Pages' throw home was on the first base side of the plate, but Smith caught it, wheeled around and tagged Sheets. Key stat Lou Trivino (2-0) got the win and Alex Vesia, the Dodgers' eighth pitcher, struck out the side in the ninth for his third save. Up next Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-4, 2.20 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at home against San Francisco. Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.00) starts the opener of a three-game series at Arizona. ___
