Elder 'pretty much unhittable' in scoreless start

MIAMI -- One of the biggest changes the Braves have seen in starter and former Top 30 club prospect Bryce Elder has been his maturity. Sure, his pitching has improved and he’s turned into a reliable arm in the Atlanta rotation. But all that circles back to his maturation.

“It's nice watching him mature here in the big leagues and kind of figure things out,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s come a long way in a year -- where he's at, maturing, he's getting really really good. Credit to him, his dedication and work ethic.”

Elder’s growth was on full display at loanDepot park in Atlanta’s 6-0 win over Miami, in which he trusted all of his stuff. The 23-year-old righty threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits to the same offense against which he gave up three homers in his previous start.

“Even my misses … they were down, and that's where I'm always gonna [aim] to miss,” Elder said. “I was pleased with it. I thought [catcher Sean] Murphy did a really good job and just kind of worked around their lineup pretty well.

“The sinker -- I think the past couple starts [it] had been just kind of a little, just okay. It got the job done, in a sense, but tonight, it was really good. And hopefully I continue to build off that.”

Elder utilized his sinker, which pairs with his slider to make up the majority of his arsenal, to get three of his six strikeouts. Not only was the pitch “really good,” but Elder’s sinker was particularly venomous on Tuesday, something both his manager and his center fielder noticed.

“I was thinking [that his sinker was nasty] to myself in the outfield, just watching the ball move,” center fielder Michael Harris II said. “Nothing he throws is straight, and it's pretty much unhittable.”

“That sinker was unbelievable,” Snitker said. “He had a good slider, I thought, from the get-go too, but the movement on that sinker was just crazy. Crazy. And he was efficient. … After yesterday and all the guys that we had to use for the doubleheader, that was big right there.”

Tuesday’s outing marked the deepest Elder has gone this season. He’s tossed at least 5 1/3 innings in each of his six starts so far, a marked improvement from his start to 2022. Last year, Elder made four starts in April -- the first he went 5 2/3 innings, then he went 4 2/3 innings or fewer in his next three starts -- before he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Back in the Minors, Elder buckled down. He got some words of wisdom from Triple-A coach Devon Travis, which he took to heart, and he learned how to trust his stuff -- even when it wasn’t his best.

“Travis told me, ‘Play the long game,’” Elder said. “Not to be arrogant, [but] I plan to play this game for a long time, as long as I can. And so I just try to be prepared every day and see where it gets me and see how long I can play.”

Entering 2023, Elder wasn’t guaranteed to make the roster out of Spring Training. He was optioned to Triple-A on March 15 and finished the spring in Minor League camp. Then Kyle Wright and Max Fried went on the injured list in the first week of the season. Elder was called up three days later and has been in the Majors ever since.

“Nothing really affects him,” Harris said. “And then when his name is called, he knows he has a job to do, and he does it each time out. It’s just more impressive because he just keeps doing him. A lot of people don't notice, but we notice for sure. He's a big part of this rotation.”