Something Braves’ fans can look forward to tomorrow afternoon: Mike Soroka is expected to make his season debut as the Braves wrap up their series with Diamondbacks. Soroka was scheduled to pitch in AAA on Wednesday night but was scratched. Kyle Wright is going to start in his place, lining up Soroka to be Thursday’s starter in Atlanta.
The Braves acted super cautiously with Soroka last season, shutting him down after he felt discomfort in his shoulder. There were rumors that he could have potentially returned for the Braves playoff run, but the organization saw no reason to take the risk. Even with all that time off, it didn’t take Soroka a few weeks to report soreness again in his shoulder during Spring Training.
Although the Braves said the issue was not related to last season’s injury, there was a cause for concern regarding the 21-year old, who is the Braves top pitching prospect. The organization has taken it slowly with Soroka once again, easing him back into things with AAA Gwinnett. He’s made two starts with the Stripers, tossing 9.1 innings with ten strikeouts and four earned runs allowed. Most importantly, Soroka hasn’t suffered any setbacks, and the Braves must feel like he’s more than ready to return to Atlanta. Nothing is official, but GM Alex Anthopoulos confirmed Soroka is expected to start.