After Atlanta’s 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals Wednesday night, the Braves officially promoted one of their top prospects Manny Banuelos to join the rotation. Banuelos will make his major league debut tonight against the Nationals in the rubber match of this three-game series. He will have the tall task of facing the best pitcher in the National League this season in Max Scherzer (9-5, 1.75 ERA).

It comes as no surprise that Banuelos received the call as fellow rookie starter Williams Perez landed on the disabled list last week after he suffered a bruised left foot. In 15 starts at Triple-A Gwinnett, Banuelos went 6-2 with a 2.29 ERA.

To make room on the roster the Braves sent right-hander Ryan Kelly back down to Triple-A.

Banuelos, 24, is the 11th ranked prospect in the Braves minor league system, according to MLB.com. The left-hander was once the New York Yankees top prospect in their system before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012 to repair his left elbow. After missing the entire 2013 season, Banuelos pitched 76.1 innings in 2014 between the Yankees Single-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton, and Triple-A Scranton affiliates. In those 26 games, 25 starts, he went 2-3 with an ERA of 4.13.

When the offseason came around the Yankees seemed willing to part with the once promising prospect as they traded him to Atlanta for two relievers in David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve. Thus far, Carpenter has been designated for assignment and ended up with Washington and Shreve has been a bright spot for the Yankee bullpen going 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA and striking out 35 batters in 33 innings pitched.

What made Banuelos a top pitching prospect was his electric fastball that sat in the mid to upper 90’s. Now he sits in the lower 90’s but has shown the ability to command his fastball with consistency. That has led to more effective off speed pitches with his changeup and curveball.

Braves director of player development Dave Trembley had this to say about Banuelos, “His makeup is unbelievable, and his mound presence is really good… He’s learned to pitch off his fastball. He was a power pitcher coming up. He had the surgery, and he had to learn how to pitch again. He’s learned to use his secondary pitches.”

Atlanta wants to limit his innings to around 120-130 innings this year to stay on the cautious side. So expect the Braves to put him in the bullpen once Williams Perez comes off the disabled list, and maybe they give Mike Foltynewicz a chance to rejoin the rotation after being sent back to Triple-A.

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About the author
Parker White
Sports journalist from Midlothian, Virginia. Co-editor and writer for the NBA and MLB sections at VAVEL USA. Follow me on Twitter @spudwhite1022