Skip to main content

Talking Chop

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Atlanta Braves Valentine’s Day 2026 Opening Day roster projection

Happy Valentine’s Day. Here’s to hearts, roses, chocolates and Atlanta Braves baseball. Well, one out of four ain’t bad. The first week of Spring Training is almost in the books, and there’s already been the notable addition of catcher Jonah Heim and the loss of starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach. Projecting the Opening Day roster before […]

MLB

How will the Braves employ ABS this season?

As you may know, MLB will use an automated ball-strike system in nearly all games this season. Teams only get two of these in the first nine innings of a game, which isn’t nearly enough. If an umpire misses less than five ball-strike calls in a game, it’s a very good effort. So they probably […]

Braves News: Starting rotation, spring training TV schedule, and more

What once appeared to be a settled fifth starter spot for the Atlanta Braves has quickly turned into one of the more intriguing storylines of camp. With Spencer Schwellenbach’s elbow inflammation muddying the picture, Atlanta now has a legitimate spring competition on its hands. Joey Wentz, Bryce Elder, Hurston Waldrep and José Suarez are all […]

Chris Sale on his future with Braves, won’t challenge via ABS

There has been a big media presence around the Atlanta Braves during this first week of Spring Training which means lots of player availability. Earlier today, Alex Anthopoulos met with the media, and you can read those highlights here. Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale made the media rounds as well, discussion a number of topics, […]

Spring Training open tread: February 13

It’s Friday the 13th, folks. If you aren’t into slasher flicks or the Winter Olympics, then hello! Welcome! You’re one of us! Let’s talk baseball! Tomorrow is the day of love, so they say. And to carry that theme, here’s Chris Sale talking about how he wants to retire as an Atlanta Braves player. Would […]

MLB

Alex Anthopoulos talks rotation, Ha-Seong Kim and Mike Yastrzemski

With spring training officially rocking and rolling, this is definitely as good of a time as any to hear from both Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and the newly-promoted manager, Walt Weiss. Both of them spoke with the media one-after-the-other on Friday afternoon and the first thing on my mind was […]

MLB

Potential targets for the OTHER Braves 2026 First Round Draft Pick

The college baseball season gets underway today, or I should say is already underway with a 9:30 AM game kicking things off, and some high school seasons have already gotten underway. That means we are officially in MLB Draft season. This is an especially big draft for the Atlanta Braves, thanks to Drake Baldwin. As […]

MLB

There will be open competition for fifth rotation spot, says Alex Anthopoulos

As of right now, the Atlanta Braves rotation in its current form is healthy enough with four starters who are doing fine here in the infancy of camp. It’s gotten to the point where Braves President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has gone ahead and claimed that four of the five rotation spots are […]

MLB

Braves to broadcast 15 spring training games

The Atlanta Braves will televise 15 live spring training games in February and March, with free over-the-air broadcasts through local Gray TV stations in 26 markets throughout the southeast. Fans with MLBTV will also be able to stream the games, per MLB’s Mark Bowman. Here are the spring training games the Braves will televise. It’s […]

Zack Littell: Yay or nay?

I’m not gonna make a case, or talk about how it depends on price. You can do that. Littell is the only free agent remaining who A) does not require loss of a draft pick, and B) is projected by a blend of Steamer and ZiPS to produce over 1.5 WAR in 2026. Do with […]

MLB

Braves News: Ronald Acuña Jr. in live BP, WBC schedule, and more

The fun continues in North Port, Florida, as Ronald Acuña Jr. and some other Atlanta Braves have been participating in live BP. Gabe Burns of the AJC has given an inside look at camp all week; Acuña stepped in against Chris Sale, and the veteran lefty got the better of him, punching him out twice. […]

How far will the Braves go when it comes to fortifying the starting rotation?

The good news for the Atlanta Braves as we continue to progress through the early portions of spring training is that two days of camp have come and gone and the Braves haven’t had anybody else go on the 60-Day IL. Here’s hoping that this continues long into spring training, the World Baseball Classic and […]

Examining Black baseball history: The Atlanta Black Crackers

America’s pastime has had many layers over the years and has been played throughout many countries and historical periods, including wars we still look back on today. Although many records have been erased from history books, and notable players weren’t given the credit they deserved to justify their talent, it’s important to look and recognize […]

MLB

How many innings will Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz pitch for Atlanta in 2026?

I’m shamelessly stealing from the comments, here. Unless there’s a move on the rotation side, Bryce Elder will probably begin the year in Atlanta’s rotation. Joey Wentz is out of options, as is Elder. Seems reasonable — unless you’re willing to roll the dice on the Braves going in a very different direction at this […]

Braves News: Joe Jimenez, starter options, best prospect tools, more

Well Chris Bassitt is off the board with a 1 year $18.5 million deal with the Orioles after it really felt like Bassitt would land in Atlanta. The terms of that deal seems like it would have been fairly palatable to an Atlanta front office that loves a one year deal. I wonder if they […]

Spring Training open thread: February 11

Well, nobody went on the 60-Day IL today so I’d consider that a success! The night is still young so I’m definitely knocking on wood here but hopefully we’re past the bad injury luck for the time being. That clubhouse needs it and the fanbase needs it as well. Phew. Anyways, here’s a random clip. […]

Outside-of-the-box options for the Braves to add starting pitching for 2026

The Atlanta Braves got some more bad news when it was discovered that Spencer Schwellenbach will need arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. This leads to wondering what the way forward. It was widely expected that the Braves would try to land a playoff caliber starting pitcher this off-season, which obviously has not happened yet. […]

2026 Battery Power Braves Prospects Best Tools: Hitters

For best tools when it comes to pitchers, click here. Best Hitter – John Gil It was quite the first full season for John Gil, as he was the catalyst at the top of a young and exciting Augusta GreenJackets lineup and showed advanced ability at the plate at just 19 years old. Early in […]

Walt Weiss: Joe Jimenez may not be back this season

Walt Weiss gave the press some more injury news today. To no Braves fan’s surprise, it’s not good news. Oy. It’s the song that never ends. Jimenez, already having lost the 2025 season with a left articular cartilage injury and further surgery in November, may be out for 2026. The Braves, after placing Spencer Schwellenbach […]

USA Today predicts Braves to finish third in NL East in 2026

When it comes to projection models like FanGraphs and PECOTA, the Atlanta Braves have some very high expectations in 2026. However, they’ve still got a ways to go when it comes to convincing some pundits out there — particularly the panel of five people who were chosen to make predictions for USA Today when it […]

MLB

Which Brave is gonna get hurt next?

Alright, baseball nihilism time. Or, at least, pessimism, I guess. Back in December, reports on Spencer Schwellenbach’s health were good. Now, not so good. Very bad, really. Joe Jimenez was more of an expected outcome at this point. Much of the roster could more or less suffer the same turn of events…and Ha-Seong Kim already […]

MLB

Braves News: Spring Training roundup, Spencer Schwellenbach, and more

Tuesday made for a busy day for the Atlanta Braves, as pitchers and catchers reported to the spring training facility in North Port, Florida. There were several storylines from the day, and in 2025 fashion, not all of them were great. Most notably, it was announced that starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach has some inflammation in […]