The Atlanta Braves aggressively cleansed the depths of the 40-man roster this offseason, trading away several players in bulk to improve the major league roster.
And one of those players is flourishing in his new home.
Braden Shewmake, once a top prospect for the Braves but now with the Chicago White Sox, has been making the most of his new opportunity.
Shewmake, who went 0-4 in the two games he started for Atlanta last season, picked up his first career hit on Saturday, homering off of Detroit Tigers starter Kenta Maeda.
Shewmake turned on the first pitch from Maeda, launching it at 100.4 off the bat for his first career hit and homer. And the fact that his first hit was a homer is significant – during Shewmake’s time in Atlanta’s farm system, he was commonly considered to be lacking in the power department. Shewmake’s final two seasons with Atlanta, mostly in AAA Gwinnett, saw him hit a combined 23 homers in almost 200 games with a slugging percentage of only .404.
Not to rest on his laurels from Saturday, Shewmake went 1-2 on Sunday, stealing second base and then later scoring from 3rd when the runner behind him attempted to steal second base.
Shewmake’s one of several former Braves on the White Sox roster for 2024, with two trades between the teams this offseason sending six players to Chicago and giving Atlanta lefty reliever Aaron Bummer and cash considerations in return.
Starting pitcher Michael Soroka is the biggest of those players that was traded; he started game two of the season on Saturday and went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking three and not recording a strikeout. Infielder Nicky Lopez is 1-7 with a strikeout and a caught stealing this season, while catcher Max Stassi has yet to appear in a game and pitchers Jared Shuster (Triple-A) and Riley Gowens (Single-A) are in the minor leagues.