The Atlanta Braves have one of the best rotations in baseball, regardless of who wins the fifth spot. The battle for the final place in the rotation should be a fun one to watch develop over the course of the spring.

Bryce Elder makes 2024 spring debut

Bryce Elder made his debut on Sunday in a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox. Elder started the game with a goal of pitching two innings in the outing. He made it just 1.1 innings after allowing four hits, a walk, and two earned runs.

Elder got into trouble right out of the gate with a leadoff double by Ceddanne Rafaela. After Wilyer Abreu lined out to Ronald Acuna Jr., Bobby Dalbec drew a walk to put two men on with one out to start Elder’s spring. He got his lone strikeout in the next at-bat against Pablo Reyes. Then Elder induced a round ball to Ozzie Albies to finish the inning.

It took a lot more pitches than Elder wanted, considering he was only shooting for two innings on the day, as reported by Joe Simpson on the 680am radio broadcast.

He didn’t make it far in the second inning, allowing two more singles before Connor Wong ended Elder’s day with an RBI double.

Reynaldo Lopez makes 2024 spring debut

Reynaldo Lopez made it two innings in his outing yesterday. He allowed a lone run on a solo homer in an otherwise clean outing.

Battle for 5th Spot in Rotation: Bryce Elder

Bryce Elder has been considered by some to be the favorite for the fifth spot. Elder was an All-Star last season due to his dominance in the first half. That did not carryover to the second half of the season.

Bryce Elder’s Jekyll and Hyde 2023 season

In the first half, Elder had a 2.97 ERA. In the second half, he posted a 5.11 ERA. Of course, by “half” in baseball, we don’t really mean 50%. We mean post All-Star break. So, for the majority of the year, Elder was fantastic. Last season’s 174.2 innings was far and away the most of Elder’s young career. It is possible he wore down.

2023 was good overall for Bryce Elder

His fantastic first half was enough to salvage his overall ERA. He finished 2023 with a 3.81 ERA. Again, if you get that sort of production out of the fifth spot in the rotation, you should be happy. As much as Elder struggled in the second half, his fantastic first half contributed greatly to the Braves successful season.

Battle for 5th Spot in Rotation: Reynaldo Lopez

Reynaldo Lopez was signed to a three-year, $30 million deal in November of 2023. The Braves really like the 30-year-old’s stuff. He has been a full-time reliever the past two seasons. Over that time he has posted a stellar 3.02 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 131.1 innings pitched.

The Braves announced they would be stretching Lopez back out to be a starter this year and it has been reported that he might be the favorite to win the final spot in the rotation.

Has Reynaldo Lopez been a good starting pitcher in the past?

Lopez had a phenomenal first full season as a starter for the White Sox in 2018, making 32 starts and posting a 3.91 ERA over 188.2 innings pitched.

If the Braves could get a performance that resembles the 2018 version, they would be ecstatic to get that sort of production at the end of the rotation.

What if Reynaldo Lopez doesn’t win a rotation spot?

If Lopez doesn’t win the fifth spot in the rotation, he will be stretched out and ready to go multiple innings out of the bullpen.

Why Reynaldo Lopez might have the edge to win the fifth rotation spot

Lopez is a veteran pitcher with multiple successful seasons under his belt, as a starter and/or reliever. The Braves believe in Reynaldo Lopez, as evidenced by the three-year, $30 million deal they gave him this offseason. There is a real chance they saw him as their fifth starter when they signed him. It didn’t take long for the team to announce he would be stretching out.

If they can help him roll his success as a reliever over to success as a starter, they might have a pretty special fifth starter on their hands.

Who do you think will win the fifth spot? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or check out our Atlanta Braves message board and voice your opinions.