SEATTLE — Braves fans who loath baseball’s velocity obsession must relish Bryce Elder’s starts. Even those who prefer flamethrowers, too, must appreciate what he’s accomplished.
Elder bucks modern trends. He’s 23, but he’s an old soul. His fastball averages 90.6 mph, but his 2.97 ERA ranks fifth in the National League. He didn’t make the Braves in March, but he made the National League All-Star team in July.
By his own admission, “I’m not going to strike a bunch of guys out.” That alone is a rarity. The Braves have won 13 of his 18 outings.
“He’s a younger guy that is a true pitcher, the type of pitcher I grew up watching,” said 39-year-old Braves starter Charlie Morton. “It’s almost like, a different generation. Watching him is like watching a little bit of a throwback because he’s throwing the ball to smaller areas and he’s moving the ball in different directions. I’ve seen it in person, but I think it’s been a while since I’ve seen a righty starter that was pitching in that style. And to be so young and be able to do that, it’s awesome.”
The Braves needed one of their unproven starters to establish himself entering the season. And that was before Kyle Wright and Max Fried suffered injuries that have sidelined them for months. Elder has teamed with Spencer Strider — a fellow 2020 draftee and All-Star — and Morton to give the Braves a reliable trio, an enormous help with Wright and Fried out. The injured duo went 35-12 with a 2.83 ERA combined last season.
Elder had a nice debut campaign, posting a 3.17 ERA over 10 games (nine starts). He even tossed a shutout against the hapless Nationals last September. But he wasn’t guaranteed anything entering the 2023 season. He failed his brief audition for a rotation spot in spring training. After a shaky outing in Clearwater, Florida, on March 14, the Braves optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.
He was Gwinnett’s opening-day starter. Most would’ve figured that was the biggest honor he’d receive this season. But when Elder returned to the majors, he established himself as a necessary component of the marvelous Braves’ success.
“To be honest, no (I couldn’t have envisioned this),” Elder said Tuesday. “I always thought maybe you pitch well enough, you end up achieving something like this. But to start the year in Triple-A, I really never would’ve thought of it. I’ve just put my head down and it worked out. This is pretty cool to be here.”
No one else would’ve guessed he’d be among eight Braves in Seattle this week, either. The guy who headlined Gwinnett’s rotation March 31 is now peers with Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw and the game’s greatest pitchers. “I don’t know any of them but I’m looking forward to meeting them,” Elder said. “To see these guys you’ve been watching for years and to be here with them in some capacity, it’s pretty cool.”