MIAMI - Braves pitching prospect Bryce Elder was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett. Elder, 22, was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft. The University of Texas product will be on his third level this season, rising from High-A Rome to Double-A Mississippi to Gwinnett.
Elder had a 3.21 ERA with 60 strikeouts against 17 walks in nine starts with Mississippi (56 innings). Opponents hit .198 against Elder, who has won seven of his past eight starts.
Across two levels, Elder owns a 2.94 ERA with a 115:37 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 starts. The righty is showing the promise that made him Baseball America’s No. 83 prospect entering the 2020 draft (he fell to No. 156 in the draft because of signability concerns).
Elder has shown drastic leaps before, such as making sizable improvement between his freshman and sophomore seasons at Texas. Baseball wasn’t a priority for Elder until later in high school (he also was focused on golf). He’s ascended the Braves’ system quickly, especially considering there wasn’t a 2020 minor-league season.
The Braves are hoping one of their next group of pitching prospects emerges into a legitimate major league-caliber pitcher. Elder has made promising strides on that front. He joins Spencer Strider, Jared Shuster and Freddy Tarnok among the next wave of pitchers.
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