The Braves are sticking with their plan to have recently signed pitcher Dallas Keuchel make his first major-league start of the season after just two tuneups in the minors.

“Right now, he’s going to pitch Friday, yeah,” manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.

That firmed up Snitker's comments from two days earlier, when he said he was "hoping" Keuchel would pitch for the Braves on Friday and "everything is pointed in that direction."

The Braves play at Washington on Friday in the opener of a three-game series and 10-game trip.

“I’m just anxious to watch him pitch and get him in our mix,” Snitker said Wednesday. “I think he’s going to be a significant get for us.”

Keuchel, a seven-year MLB veteran and the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Houston Astros, became a free agent after last season. He remained without a team until June 7, when the Braves signed him to a $13 million contract for the rest of this season.

The 31-year-old left-hander pitched two seven-inning stints in the Braves’ farm system last week, throwing 77 pitches for Single-A Rome on June 10 and 106 pitches for Double-A Mississippi five days later.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Atlanta Braves' Drake Baldwin reacts after hitting a game-winning pinch hit single in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, April 18, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Credit: AP

Featured

Pinky Cole's Ponce City Market location in Atlanta, Georgia, 'Bar Vegan', during lunch time on April 5, 2024. (Jamie Spaar for the Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Credit: Jamie Spaar