SAN DIEGO -- When rookie catcher Drake Baldwin and Spencer Schwellenbach formed the battery the Braves used in a 1-0 loss to the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park, it marked just the second time they had ever worked together in a regular season game at the professional level. The only previous time occurred on May 22, 2024, when Schwellenbach threw seven scoreless innings for Double-A Mississippi in Chattanooga.
¡°I don¡¯t know his exact stat line, but he absolutely shoved,¡± Baldwin said. ¡°He had a ton of pitches working there and then he added the sinker and kind of refined some of the other pitches. He was really, really good then and he¡¯s continuing to get better.¡±
The seven scoreless innings Schwellenbach threw in Chattanooga more than 10 months ago marked the end of a Minor League career that included just two starts above the High-A level. He debuted for Atlanta the following week and he is now beginning what will be just his second unrestricted season at the professional level. The former University of Nebraska shortstop/closer recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2022 and was on an innings limit in 2023.
Everything has happened quickly for Schwellenbach. But since making his MLB debut on May 29, he has already posted a 1.54 ERA over nine combined starts against 2024 NL playoff teams. This includes the six scoreless innings he skillfully constructed while surrendering just one hit in Saturday¡¯s loss.
¡°I¡¯m not that surprised that he¡¯s doing what he¡¯s doing,¡± Baldwin said.
Along with navigating Schwellenbach through another impressive start, Baldwin notched his first career hit, an opposite-field single in the second inning. The 23-year-old catcher, who ranks as baseball¡¯s No. 62 prospect and the Braves¡¯ No. 1 prospect, had gone hitless in his first two career games, despite producing three exit velocities of 100 mph or higher.
Unfortunately, Schwellenbach¡¯s latest gem and Baldwin¡¯s milestone moment weren¡¯t enough to prevent the Braves from falling to 0-3 for the first time since their 2021 World Series championship season. They blew a late lead on Opening Day and have recorded just one hit through their first 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
What¡¯s more frustrating than that? How about suffering this third straight loss after Jake Cronenworth tallied a two-out double with a comebacker that drilled left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer¡¯s right foot and shot into the third base dugout. Yuli Gurriel followed with a game-winning single off Daysbel Hern¨¢ndez.
¡°It¡¯s just the way it is,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said with a chuckle. ¡±We hit one off the pitcher¡¯s foot and it goes straight to the first baseman.¡±
Some of this tough luck will inevitably disappear. But the Braves also have reason to feel good about the fact their first four starters will soon be 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, Reynaldo L¨®pez, Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider, who will likely make at least two more rehab starts after throwing 60 pitches for Triple-A Gwinnett in Charlotte on Saturday.
Schwellenbach strengthened his status as a darkhorse Cy Young Award candidate as he limited the Padres to Jackson Merrill¡¯s leadoff single in the second. The 24-year-old hurler threw each of his six pitches at least 13 times and got a swing-and-miss with 12 of 46 swings.
This isn¡¯t necessarily anything new. Schwellenbach¡¯s repertoire last year was one of the most successfully diverse the baseball world has seen over the past two decades. He recorded a positive run value with five pitch types last year -- four-seam fastball (+1), slider (+2), cutter (+3), curveball (+2) and split-finger (+3). His sinker had a run value of 0.
This marked just the 30th time during the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) that a pitcher recorded a positive run value with at least five different pitch types (min. 240 pitches each) in one season.
¡°It's all about executing my pitches, and I feel like I've been doing that against the better teams,¡± Schwellenbach said. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to be as consistent as I can, no matter who is in that box against me.¡±