AJ Smith-Shawver to start Braves finale against Cubs

The Braves will start rookie AJ Smith-Shawver in Thursday night’s series finale against the Cubs.

The 20-year-old righty will be making his first big league appearance since July 30. Smith-Shawver battled shoulder inflammation in August and has been limited to just a few innings in recent appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett, so it seems he will serve in a similar capacity on Thursday. Smith-Shawver is not on the active roster so a move will need to be made. Darius Vines, who started Wednesday’s game, seems like a possible candidate given he won’t make another start prior to the season ending Sunday.

Smith-Shawver will be opposed by Marcus Stroman in Thursday night’s series finale. Stroman was excellent in the early months of the season, but he missed all of August and early September with an injury and has been limited to a couple of innings of work in his three appearances since September 15. First pitch from Truist will be at 7:20 p.m. ET.