Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach continues proving he’s one of MLB’s best arms

“You could just call any pitch at any time, and he was throwing it wherever he wanted to,” Baldwin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That was the first time I really caught him, but that was the moment I knew — probably first inning there, and I was like, ‘This guy’s different.‘”

Fast forward to Friday, and the two were batterymates at Truist Park for the Braves’ home opener against the Marlins — a 10-0 victory for the Braves, their first of the season. Schwellenbach threw eight scoreless innings. He carried a perfect game until there were two outs in the top of the fifth inning. He was in control.

During a hellish road trip, the Braves learned they would be without Reynaldo López for at least two months — and perhaps longer. This, of course, created questions. What would the Braves’ rotation look like? Could the others make up for the loss? How does this affect the club’s postseason chances?

In Spencer Schwellenbach, there is comfort when pondering these questions.

In Spencer Schwellenbach, there is hope.

In Spencer Schwellenbach, there is an answer.

“He’s got that ability — we’ve seen it already in a young career — to step up when you need him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You know what, we needed him tonight. He did enough his first start to not let that (losing streak) get this far – just like he did last year. You love that about the guy and the makeup and he views all that.”

In his first full big-league season, he has only continued his rise from a year ago. Yes, it is early. But the results do not lie. Ever since the Braves called him up last season, he has dealt — time after time, and against any lineup.

The truth: Schwellenbach looks like the truth.

Schwellenbach in two starts to begin this season: No runs over 14 innings, with three hits. He has 14 strikeouts and one walk.

And this comes after a debut season in which he finished with a 3.35 ERA, including a 2.87 ERA against teams with records of .500 or better. Oh, and he’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last 14 starts, dating to July 27.

“I think Schwelly is one of the best arms in baseball,” Matt Olson said before the game. “Somebody who can do it different ways, a ton of different pitches, kind of isn’t the same guy every single time he goes out — which I think is good, it’s hard to plan for. I think it’s gonna help him the longer his career goes. Calm, cool, collected, filling up the zone and missing barrels. He’s been impressive early on in his career, and I see that continuing.”

The first part of Olson’s comment catches your attention. Of course he’ll support his teammate. But at 24, Schwellenbach truly has made an impression.

Could he actually be one of the best in baseball? The results are pointing that way.

“With his work ethic and how athletic he is, it’s pretty special,” Baldwin said after the game. “Every time he goes out, you know he’s going to go out and compete. He does a ton of homework before the game to know how to attack hitters. I don’t see him slowing down. Just with his talent and work ethic, it’s going to be pretty special.”

On Friday, Schwellenbach retired the first 14 Marlins he faced. After a single with two outs in the fifth, he set down the next five hitters he saw. In the eighth, he recorded his 10th strikeout.

The Marlins looked hopeless. Then again, most major leaguers do against this guy.

Baldwin has both perspectives — a catcher and hitter. How would he plan for Schwellenbach? Well, um, that’s tough.

“I mean, as a hitter, a lot of times you’re trying to pick a zone or pick a pitch, and when someone has that many, you really can’t because the odds that he’ll throw it are so low,” Baldwin said. “I mean, if I was a hitter, I don’t even know what I would do, honestly. I truly don’t. I was thinking about if I would sit on a pitch, but I was like, ‘He has five other ones that he would probably throw and command.’ It’s tough. He gets some weak contact there and then he has the stuff to put them away late, too. It’s impressive.”

The Braves will need Schwellenbach to step up to help them cover López’s absence. So far, so good. Schwellenbach has been as reliable as they come since the Braves called him up last May.

On Tuesday, López will undergo an arthroscopic procedure to determine the extent of the damage in his shoulder. The Braves will know more about his timeline after that. But they’ve already transferred him to the 60-day injured list, which signals that they’re confident it’s an extended absence. He won’t return until at least the beginning of June.

If healthy, though, Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Schwellenbach are a terrific top three. The Braves can feel good about them, especially because of Schwellenbach’s emergence.

“I mean, you better have a deep rotation if you’re gonna do anything, and (Schwellenbach) sure adds to that,” Snitker said. “It’s hard to replace a Reynaldo López after what he did last year. I’m just hoping when he gets checked out, it’s nothing big. What Spencer (Schwellenbach) can do for us is huge, especially after we get the other Spencer (Strider) back.”

At this moment, the Marlins might have more wins (four) than the Braves (one). But Miami will almost certainly be one of baseball’s worst teams by season’s end. This is meaningless, though: In spring training, Schwellenbach, who fared so well against eventual playoff teams last season, said he wanted to be better against everyone else.

Mission accomplished Friday.

“Yeah, it was nice,” Schwellenbach said. “I always say treat every game the same, but obviously when the playoff teams come around, you have a little bit more juice. But today I was going after them.”