AJ Smith-Shawver

AJ Smith-Shawver

21-Year-Old PitcherSP
Atlanta Braves
2024 Fantasy Outlook
The second-youngest pitcher to make five-plus starts in the majors last year (only Eury Perez was younger), Smith-Shawver has an impressive combination of youth, size and stuff. He dominated over three starts at High-A and two starts at Double-A before spending the bulk of his age-20 season going back and forth between Triple-A and the majors. The 6-foot-3 righty sat 93-96 mph with his plus fastball while touching 98 mph in the big leagues. He has touched triple digits in the past, but command and control have been lacking at times, so he may have dialed back his velocity in favor of more control during his 25.1 innings in the majors. Smith-Shawver threw his mid-80s slider 22 percent of the time while throwing his upper-70s curveball and fourth-pitch changeup each over 10 percent of the time, so it's a true four-pitch mix. All three secondary offerings can flash plus, but his breaking balls are more consistent than his changeup. He missed over two weeks with shoulder inflammation in the second half but returned to make four appearances in September. All told, he tallied 87.1 innings across four levels, so we can hope for around 140 innings in 2024 with good health. The main thing to keep in mind with Smith-Shawver is that he is still developing and could be far from a finished product. His command, secondary offerings and sequencing could all improve over the next couple years. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#385
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with Atlanta in March of 2024.
Named Game 1 starter
PAtlanta Braves
October 1, 2024
Smith-Shawver will start Tuesday in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Padres, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
With a doubleheader Monday and Chris Sale (back) unavailable, Atlanta's options for Game 1 were limited. Smith-Shawver made just one regular-season start with the big club, tossing 4.2 frames back in May versus the Cubs. Atlanta no doubt will have Smith-Shawver on a very short leash Tuesday.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
58
Last 10 Games
58
Last 5 Games
58
How many pitches does AJ Smith-Shawver generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does AJ Smith-Shawver generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-29%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-100%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-52%
BAA vs RHP
2022
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .214 67 14 11 12 1 0 5
Since 2022vs Right .151 56 10 2 8 0 0 2
2024vs Left .000 8 3 2 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right .300 10 1 0 3 0 0 0
2023vs Left .240 59 11 9 12 1 0 5
2023vs Right .116 46 9 2 5 0 0 2
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-29%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-60%
ERA at Home
2022
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.20 1.07 19.2 1 0 0 5.9 3.7 1.8
Since 2022Away 4.50 1.20 10.0 0 0 0 9.9 4.5 2.7
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0.00 1.15 4.1 0 0 0 8.3 4.2 0.0
2023Home 3.20 1.07 19.2 1 0 0 5.9 3.7 1.8
2023Away 7.94 1.24 5.2 0 0 0 11.1 4.8 4.8
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does AJ Smith-Shawver compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.00
 
K/9
8.3
 
BB/9
4.2
 
HR/9
0.0
 
Fastball
96.2 mph
 
ERA
0.00
 
WHIP
1.15
 
BABIP
.267
 
GB/FB
0.50
 
Left On Base
100.0%
 
Exit Velocity
78.7 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.0%
 
Spin Rate
2077 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
21.2%
 
Swinging Strike
10.3%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2023 Fantasy Outlook
Smith-Shawver, an over-slot prep righty whom Atlanta gave almost $1 million to after selecting him in the seventh round in 2021, has one of the best fastball/slider combos in the entire minors. His fastball touches the upper-90s with elite movement and his upper-80s slider is already a monster bat misser. Smith-Shawver is still very raw as a pitcher, however, as his delivery and command need significant refinement. He made 17 starts in Single-A last season and went five-plus innings with two or fewer walks on five occasions, so there were flashes of him putting it all together, but his 13.0 BB% and 1.35 WHIP on the year showcase how far he still has to go. Smith-Shawver's third-pitch changeup isn't very usable right now, but the main thing for him is streamlining his plus athleticism into a repeatable delivery that allows him to throw enough strikes to start. If he does that and stays healthy, the sky is the limit, even with a mediocre third pitch.
More Fantasy News
On wild-card roster
PAtlanta Braves
October 1, 2024
Atlanta recalled Smith-Shawver from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Option for Game 1
PAtlanta Braves
September 30, 2024
Smith-Shawver could start Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres on Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Optioned to Gwinnett
PAtlanta Braves
July 10, 2024
Atlanta optioned Smith-Shawver to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Rejoining Atlanta as reliever
PAtlanta Braves
Oblique
July 9, 2024
Atlanta activated Smith-Shawver (oblique) from the 15-day injured Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared for rehab assignment
PAtlanta Braves
Oblique
July 3, 2024
Smith-Shawver (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rome on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Call-up coming soon?
PAtlanta Braves
May 20, 2024
Smith-Shawver should be in the mix to be called up to start Friday against the Pirates, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
ANALYSIS
The right-hander is the organization's top prospect but has struggled at Triple-A Gwinnett this season with a 6.10 ERA and 4.9 BB/9 through eight starts, so he may not be the strongest candidate for a spot start. Smith-Shawver had a decent showing in his first taste of the big leagues last season with a 4.26 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 20:11 K:BB over 25.1 innings.
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