Atlanta Braves pitching: Who wins the battle for the fifth rotation spot?

Ian Anderson

We have all seen what Anderson can do come playoff time. But the lack of ability to go deep into games on a consistent basis was seen in 2022.

In the playoff runs of 2020 and 2021, Anderson only went six or more innings once in his eight starts. Of course, you have to take into account that the Braves had one of the best bullpens in baseball both years.

But when it came to the regular season last year, Anderson struggled with consistency, which ultimately led to him being demoted to Triple-A.

Per ESPN News Services, Brian Snitker had this to say about the demotion.

"“We need to get him right,” Snitker said. “He’s a big part of what we’ve got going on. Hopefully he can take a step back and reassess things and get himself going.”"

Even after the demotion, Anderson struggled with consistency. He never finished through the sixth inning, and sans his first start in which he gave up two hits and no runs, Anderson struggled the rest of the way.

His strikeout numbers were decent over the four starts (23), but he also gave up 10 walks and 13 earned runs.

Despite all of the negatives, when Anderson is on, there’s a lot to like, according to Prospects Live:

"His overall control on all three pitches is near above-average with the fastball primarily being a setup pitch for his two off-speed. Anderson cannot get away with missing on a fastball very often. Thus, with that being his primary offering, the need to spot it is a must. He does a very good job of accomplishing this, and with the mastery of his changeup, Anderson has a very good one two punch of pitches that he can reliably spot."

If Anderson can return to form, he definitely could be up for the fifth spot.