The talk of camp this spring started when the Atlanta Braves optioned Bryce Elder and Ian Anderson, leaving the competition for the vacant fifth spot in the rotation to Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster.

After finishing April with five starts and a stellar 2.17 ERA, Elder began his May with his best start of the season. Elder spun seven shutout einnings against the fish last night, leading the Braves to their 20th win of the season. Elder allowed just three hits, walked none, and struckout six.

Elder lowered his ERA to 1.75 with a 1.06 WHIP, 32 strikeouts, and just nine walks in 36 innings.

Bryce Elder now finds himself inside the top five in ERA leaders after six starts.

Elder’s performance thus far has given the Braves arguably the best rotation in baseball from top to bottom. It has also given the Braves the luxury of taking their time with Michael Soroka in Triple-A, considering he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2020.

Elder has used his two-seam fastball and slider has his primary pitches to keep hitters off balance. He’s a pitcher’s pitcher, locating pitches and keeping hitters guessing as opposed to blowing them away. Elder ranks in the 8th percentile in fastball velocity this season.

Combined with his performance down the stretch last season, it’s hard to argue that any pitcher has been better since September of last season. Elder has brought his career ERA down to 2.60.

Elder is scheduled to face the Red Sox at home in his next start on May 9.