AJ Smith-Shawver

20-Year-Old PitcherSP
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. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
$Signed a one-year contract with Atlanta in May of 2023.
Impressive in first start
PAtlanta Braves
June 10, 2023
Smith-Shawver didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 3-2 win over the Nationals, allowing two unearned runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
A year ago at this time, Smith-Shawver was a teenager at Single-A just trying to harness his plus stuff and find the plate often enough to be effective. Friday, he made his first career big-league start and consistently dotted the inside corners of the strike zone with mid-90s heat while generating weak contact that his defense had some trouble corralling. The 20-year-old didn't show the dominance he'd displayed earlier this season as he made a rapid ascent through Atlanta's system, but that should come as he gets more comfortable in the majors. With Max Fried (forearm) and Kyle Wright (shoulder) out until at least the All-Star break, Smith-Shawver appears to be in line for a long look in the rotation, with his next outing potentially coming next week in Detroit.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
63
Last 10 Games
63
Last 5 Games
63
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 2021
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2022
No Stats
2021
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .125 19 3 3 2 0 0 0
Since 2021vs Right .111 9 2 0 1 0 0 0
2023vs Left .125 19 3 3 2 0 0 0
2023vs Right .111 9 2 0 1 0 0 0
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
No Stats
2021
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 0.00 0.94 5.1 0 0 0 3.4 3.4 0.0
Since 2021Away 0.00 0.43 2.1 0 0 0 11.6 3.9 0.0
2023Home 0.00 0.94 5.1 0 0 0 3.4 3.4 0.0
2023Away 0.00 0.43 2.1 0 0 0 11.6 3.9 0.0
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 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
1.67
 
K/9
5.9
 
BB/9
3.5
 
HR/9
0.0
 
Fastball
92.9 mph
 
ERA
0.00
 
WHIP
0.78
 
BABIP
.153
 
GB/FB
1.13
 
Left On Base
66.7%
 
Exit Velocity
88.4 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
0.0%
 
Spin Rate
2102 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
27.3%
 
Swinging Strike
7.2%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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Defensive Stats
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More Fantasy News
First MLB start Friday
PAtlanta Braves
June 8, 2023
Smith-Shawver will make his first major-league start Friday against the Nationals, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Set for first MLB start
PAtlanta Braves
June 6, 2023
Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed Tuesday that Smith-Shawver will make his first major-league start this weekend against the Nationals, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
ANALYSIS
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Could make start this weekend
PAtlanta Braves
June 5, 2023
Smith-Shawver could make a start for Atlanta on Friday or Saturday versus the Nationals, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Dazzles in big-league debut
PAtlanta Braves
June 5, 2023
Smith-Shawver walked one and struck out three in 2.1 scoreless, no-hit innings of relief during Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.
ANALYSIS
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Selected to MLB roster
PAtlanta Braves
May 30, 2023
Atlanta selected Smith-Shawver's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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