As of this now, the Braves project that their rotation will be the best in MLB by 2024.

When the 2024 season began, the Atlanta Braves were already in a strong position. The team had the strongest offense in baseball, the starting rotation was intact, and the bullpen was strengthened with both lefties and high-velocity pitching in addition to swing-and-miss stuff.

However, right now? They may be the greatest in nearly every category.

The Braves, who lead MLB in offense and have the greatest team rating overall, have the best rotation in the league according to Fangraphs forecasts after acquiring Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox.

Atlanta was predicted to be the third-best rotation before the Sale deal. But right now, baseball’s greatest is this. Atl

Projected 2024 performance for Atlanta’s starting rotation

Fangraphs projections

RHP Spencer Strider	31 GS	185 IP	15-7	3.18 ERA
LHP Max Fried	31 GS	185 IP	14-8	3.57 ERA
RHP Charlie Morton	29 GS	165 IP	11-9	4.18 ERA
LHP Chris Sale	26 GS	141 IP	11-7	3.74 ERA
RHP Bryce Elder	24 GS	138 IP	9-8	4.69 ERA

Fangraphs estimates Atlanta’s five starters will be worth 14.6 WAR, tops for any five man rotation in MLB for 2024.

And obviously, this is just looking at the five-man rotation and not the extended starting depth the Braves have in the minors. Even if free agent signee Reynaldo López doesn’t convert back to starting, as Atlanta said they’d look at, the Braves still project to have six other rotation options to cover starts to open 2024, with Ian Anderson (rehabbing from Tommy John surgery) expected to begin his rehab stints over the summer

RHP AJ Smith-Shawver
LHP Dylan Dodd
RHP Darius Vines
RHP Allan Winans
RHP Huascar Ynoa
RHP Hurston Waldrep (not on 40-man roster)

(Minor league free agent signees Taylor Widener and Zach Logue don’t have defined roles as of now, but both have starting experience and could conceivably be utilized as spot starters if needed).

Seeing that depth is encouraging because in 2023, Atlanta used thirteen regular starters and three “openers” to start a game with sixteen different pitchers. Due to multiple-month injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright, as well as Tommy John surgeries on Ian Anderson and Huascar Ynoa, Atlanta’s starting rotation managed a 4.36 ERA during the season, ranking them 17th out of 30 MLB teams.

Some of those starting pitchers from the previous season are no longer with the team: Kyle Wright (6.97 in seven starts) was shipped to the Kansas City Royals, Michael Soroka (6.40 ERA) was dealt to the Chicago White Sox, and Kolby Allard (6.57 ERA) and Yonny Chirinos (9.27 ERA) were permitted to stay.

(Manager Brian Snitker addressed this at the MLB Winter Meetings, saying “I guarantee you his preparation this winter will be different than it was the winters before, because he knows what he’s in for (now).”)

Sale, who was one of the best pitchers in baseball early in his career (seven consecutive top six Cy Young finishes), has pitched just under 150 innings combined since 2019. Dealt with numerous medical issues, including 2020 Tommy John surgery, a rib injury, broken fingers, and a broken wrist, he rebounded to pitch 102.2 innings last season, but will still need to have his workload managed.