AJ Smith-Shawver

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #1 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 55/High
  
  Track Record: Smith-Shawver was a two-way player in high school, and he also had Division I offers as a three-star quarterback, but the Braves bought into his athleticism and arm talent on the mound. The team signed him to an over-slot deal of just under $1 million in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. Despite being fairly raw as a pitcher, Smith-Shawver advanced four levels in his second full professional season in 2023 and made his major league debut as a 20-year-old. He struck out three batters in a relief appearance on June 4, then made five more starts in the majors and posted a 4.26 ERA in 25.1 innings, with 20 strikeouts and 11 walks.
  
  Scouting Report: Smith-Shawver has one of the best fastballs in the system. After topping out around 94-95 mph in high school, he now averages that speed with the pitch. He’s been up to 100 mph at peak velocity and also generates plus carry on his fastball with around 19 inches of induced vertical break. The pitch is a definite plus offering and could be a 70-grade offering if he develops his command and is able to consistently attack hitters at the top of the zone. After focusing on a slider in previous years, Smith-Shawver now throws multiple breaking balls: a mid-80s slider with sweeping action and occasional hard tilt and an upper-70s curveball with 11-to-5 shape and more depth. Analytics prefer his slider, but scouts were impressed with the progress he made with his curveball this spring, and both pitches have a chance to be above-average or plus offerings. Smith-Shawver has reasonable feel for both pitches and throws them for strikes at a similar rate. His effectiveness would be improved on both breaking pitches with more refined command and consistency--sometimes his curveball will pop up out of his hand and he’ll also yank the slider to his glove side with some regularity. Smith-Shawver has also developed a mid-80s split-changeup that has turned into a reliable fourth offering to attack lefthanded hitters. The pitch has decent tumbling action and fade to his arm side and generated a 53% whiff rate in the minors. Smith-Shawver’s delivery has improved each year and he works from the first-base side of the rubber and throws with great arm speed from a three-quarters slot before finishing with a closed-toe, crossfire landing. His balance has improved in his finish and he’s now a fair strike-thrower, though he still needs to sharpen his command.
  
  The Future: Smith-Shawver became the first prep pitcher from the 2021 class to make his MLB debut, and has consistently teased front-of-the-rotation upside. To fully realize that potential, he’ll need to sharpen his command and consistency, though even if he doesn’t he has the pure stuff, athleticism and strike-throwing to settle into a midrotation role. After making Atlanta’s Division Series roster in 2023, he should get a chance to fully cement himself in 2024. N
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55
• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #1 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Smith-Shawver was a quick-twitch, multi-sport athlete in high school who was a college prospect as a hitter and pitcher, but the Braves loved his arm enough to sign him for just under $1 million in the seventh round in 2021. Smith-Shawver spent 2022 with Low-A Augusta, where he showed perhaps the highest upside in Atlanta's farm system.
  
  Scouting Report: Smith-Shawver is a powerful and athletic righthander who has shown legitimate frontline starter stuff, according to scouts both inside and outside the organization. It all starts with his four-seam fastball, a beast of a pitch that averaged nearly 95 mph and peaked at 98. It has excellent life, with 20 inches of induced vertical break and both cutting and running action at times. He's still developing his command of the pitch, but when he's hitting the zone, it can be overpowering. Similarly, Smith-Shawver's slider has the potential to be a wipeout offering. It's an upper-80s pitch with short and hard biting action that disappears at the bottom of the strike zone when it's on. Smith-Shawver throws a changeup in the same velocity range that remains a work in progress. The pitch flashes solid fading life, but he has below-average feel for it presently. Smith-Shawver has reduced the violence of his delivery since high school, but there are still needed refinements. His arm speed is electric, but it's such that he's not often synced up, and he also features plenty of cross-fire action and a heavy fall-off to the first base side--all of which will limit his control and command.
  
  The Future: The Braves will likely take the Spencer Strider approach with Smith-Shawver, prioritizing fastball command and slider consistency. If his command doesn't improve, his stuff could play in a big league bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 Slider: 70 Changeup: 45 Control: 50
• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #18 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: A twitchy, multi-sport athlete out of high school, the Braves took a chance on Smith-Shawver’s explosive arm speed, signing him to just under $1 million in the 7th round.
  
  Scouting Report: Given Smith-Shawver’s current stuff, athleticism and arm speed, there are officials in Braves camp who think the 6-foot-3 righthander could be one of the top prospects in the system in a few years. There’s some refinement that needs to happen—particularly with his command—before that, and he did struggle in a brief pro debut but the toolset is tantalizing. Smith-Shawver touched 94-95 during the spring but with Atlanta he’s been sitting in that range, getting up to 97 mph with solid vertical life. The spin on both his breaking balls is impressive as well. He threw a mid-80s gyro slider more frequently this summer than a 7 o’clock tilt, downer curve in the upper-70s—but both pitches have a chance to be above-average. On top of that, Smith-Shawver showed feel for a mid-80s changeup that was well beyond his years and experience level on the mound, forcing hitters well beyond his level to ground out on ugly swings in live at-bats.
  
  The Future: Smith-Shawver was a prep quarterback and hasn’t spent much time focusing on pitching, but Braves officials rave about his early progress and believe he is a potential breakout candidate.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #318 prospect in 2021 draft
  Smith-Shawver had a wealth of options when it came to his college plans. He had Division I offers as a three-star recruit at quarterback. He topped 400 yards in passing in two separate games last fall while leading Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High to the Texas 5A regional semifinals. On the diamond, he’s a legitimate two-way player. His pro potential is most likely on the mound, where he’s touched 94-95 mph and has shown feel for spinning a mid-70s curveball that has good shape but needs some tightening up. But in college, he could also help as a third baseman at Texas Tech. He has solid all-fields power potential and his arm plays in the field as well as on the mound.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #43 prospect in 2024
• Ranked Baseball America's #39 prospect in 2023

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Smith-Shawver was a quick-twitch, multi-sport athlete in high school who was a college prospect as a hitter and pitcher, but the Braves loved his arm enough to sign him for just under $1 million in the seventh round in 2021. Smith-Shawver spent 2022 with Low-A Augusta, where he showed perhaps the highest upside in Atlanta's farm system.
  
  Scouting Report: Smith-Shawver is a powerful and athletic righthander who has shown legitimate frontline starter stuff, according to scouts both inside and outside the organization. It all starts with his four-seam fastball, a beast of a pitch that averaged nearly 95 mph and peaked at 98. It has excellent life, with 20 inches of induced vertical break and both cutting and running action at times. He's still developing his command of the pitch, but when he's hitting the zone, it can be overpowering. Similarly, Smith-Shawver's slider has the potential to be a wipeout offering. It's an upper-80s pitch with short and hard biting action that disappears at the bottom of the strike zone when it's on. Smith-Shawver throws a changeup in the same velocity range that remains a work in progress. The pitch flashes solid fading life, but he has below-average feel for it presently. Smith-Shawver has reduced the violence of his delivery since high school, but there are still needed refinements. His arm speed is electric, but it's such that he's not often synced up, and he also features plenty of cross-fire action and a heavy fall-off to the first base side--all of which will limit his control and command.
  
  The Future: The Braves will likely take the Spencer Strider approach with Smith-Shawver, prioritizing fastball command and slider consistency. If his command doesn't improve, his stuff could play in a big league bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 Slider: 70 Changeup: 45 Control: 50
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Smith-Shawver was a quick-twitch, multi-sport athlete in high school who was a college prospect as a hitter and pitcher, but the Braves loved his arm enough to sign him for just under $1 million in the seventh round in 2021. Smith-Shawver spent 2022 with Low-A Augusta, where he showed perhaps the highest upside in Atlanta's farm system.
  
  Scouting Report: Smith-Shawver is a powerful and athletic righthander who has shown legitimate frontline starter stuff, according to scouts both inside and outside the organization. It all starts with his four-seam fastball, a beast of a pitch that averaged nearly 95 mph and peaked at 98. It has excellent life, with 20 inches of induced vertical break and both cutting and running action at times. He's still developing his command of the pitch, but when he's hitting the zone, it can be overpowering. Similarly, Smith-Shawver's slider has the potential to be a wipeout offering. It's an upper-80s pitch with short and hard biting action that disappears at the bottom of the strike zone when it's on. Smith-Shawver throws a changeup in the same velocity range that remains a work in progress. The pitch flashes solid fading life, but he has below-average feel for it presently. Smith-Shawver has reduced the violence of his delivery since high school, but there are still needed refinements. His arm speed is electric, but it's such that he's not often synced up, and he also features plenty of cross-fire action and a heavy fall-off to the first base side--all of which will limit his control and command.
  
  The Future: The Braves will likely take the Spencer Strider approach with Smith-Shawver, prioritizing fastball command and slider consistency. If his command doesn't improve, his stuff could play in a big league bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 Slider: 70 Changeup: 45 Control: 50
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: A twitchy, multi-sport athlete out of high school, the Braves took a chance on Smith-Shawver&#39s explosive arm speed, signing him to just under $1 million in the 7th round.
  
  Scouting Report: Given Smith-Shawver&#39s current stuff, athleticism and arm speed, there are officials in Braves camp who think the 6-foot-3 righthander could be one of the top prospects in the system in a few years. There&#39s some refinement that needs to happen—particularly with his command—before that, and he did struggle in a brief pro debut but the toolset is tantalizing. Smith-Shawver touched 94-95 during the spring but with Atlanta he&#39s been sitting in that range, getting up to 97 mph with solid vertical life. The spin on both his breaking balls is impressive as well. He threw a mid-80s gyro slider more frequently this summer than a 7 o&#39clock tilt, downer curve in the upper-70s—but both pitches have a chance to be above-average. On top of that, Smith-Shawver showed feel for a mid-80s changeup that was well beyond his years and experience level on the mound, forcing hitters well beyond his level to ground out on ugly swings in live at-bats.
  
  The Future: Smith-Shawver was a prep quarterback and hasn&#39t spent much time focusing on pitching, but Braves officials rave about his early progress and believe he is a potential breakout candidate.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: A twitchy, multi-sport athlete out of high school, the Braves took a chance on Smith-Shawver’s explosive arm speed, signing him to just under $1 million in the 7th round.
  
  Scouting Report: Given Smith-Shawver’s current stuff, athleticism and arm speed, there are officials in Braves camp who think the 6-foot-3 righthander could be one of the top prospects in the system in a few years. There’s some refinement that needs to happen—particularly with his command—before that, and he did struggle in a brief pro debut but the toolset is tantalizing. Smith-Shawver touched 94-95 during the spring but with Atlanta he’s been sitting in that range, getting up to 97 mph with solid vertical life. The spin on both his breaking balls is impressive as well. He threw a mid-80s gyro slider more frequently this summer than a 7 o’clock tilt, downer curve in the upper-70s—but both pitches have a chance to be above-average. On top of that, Smith-Shawver showed feel for a mid-80s changeup that was well beyond his years and experience level on the mound, forcing hitters well beyond his level to ground out on ugly swings in live at-bats.
  
  The Future: Smith-Shawver was a prep quarterback and hasn’t spent much time focusing on pitching, but Braves officials rave about his early progress and believe he is a potential breakout candidate.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Smith-Shawver had a wealth of options when it came to his college plans. He had Division I offers as a three-star recruit at quarterback. He topped 400 yards in passing in two separate games last fall while leading Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High to the Texas 5A regional semifinals. On the diamond, he's a legitimate two-way player. His pro potential is most likely on the mound, where he's touched 94-95 mph and has shown feel for spinning a mid-70s curveball that has good shape but needs some tightening up. But in college, he could also help as a third baseman at Texas Tech. He has solid all-fields power potential and his arm plays in the field as well as on the mound.