NORTH PORT, Fla. -- AJ Smith-Shawver still enjoys tossing a football now and then. But the Braves’ top prospect has never regretted his decision to choose baseball over the opportunity to be Texas Tech University’s quarterback. 

“Every time I think about it, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m happy with what I did,’” Smith-Shawver said. “I miss [football]. I throw the football a good bit in the offseason just to keep the arm moving. So, I get my fix.”

Smith-Shawver toyed with the idea of playing both football and baseball at Texas Tech. Patrick Mahomes Jr. had done the same thing during his freshman season with the Red Raiders. But he felt it was in his best interest to bypass college and go straight to the professional baseball scene.

“I wanted to sign, because I wasn’t a bookworm by any means,” Smith-Shawver said. “I also thought the development in pro ball was going to be a lot better.”

There’s certainly no reason to question the decision made by Shawver, who received a $997,500 signing bonus after the Braves took him in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He was just 20 years old when he made his MLB debut last summer, and he was still a month shy of the legal drinking age when he pitched in front of the Phillies’ raucous fans during last year’s National League Division Series.

“I’ve made pretty good strides each year,” Smith-Shawver said. “I’m much more developed than I was at this time last year. It’s super exciting just to learn and try new things.”

Smith-Shawver ranks as baseball’s No. 69 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline. He began last season with High-A Rome and found himself at the big league level by May 30. The young right-hander posted a 4.26 ERA over six appearances (five starts) for Atlanta. 

It looks like Smith-Shawver could begin this season with Triple-A Gwinnett. But the early signs from camp have been encouraging, so there’s certainly a chance the highly regarded prospect could spend more time with Atlanta this year.

“I’ve been watching his sides and he’s been starting to take that next step, just with his growth and maturity,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The experience he got last year was huge. You can see a kid that is just maturing. The biggest thing for him is just experience. He’s still really, really young with limited experience. But he’s had a lot of experience for his age.”

Smith-Shawver’s rapid rise might have been a product of spending much of his childhood playing a variety of sports with his good friend Bobby Witt Jr., who is two years older. Witt’s tremendous potential recently earned him an 11-year, $288.8 million deal with the Royals.  

“I'm so excited for him,” Smith-Shawver said. “He's earned every bit of that. I think the Royals made a really good decision to sign him, because just watching him over the years, he does everything the right way. He’s going to keep getting better.” 

Smith-Shawver hasn’t yet earned that financial security, but folks are also very excited to see what the next few years hold for him.

Ronald Acuña Jr. ranked as baseball’s best player when MLB Network unveiled its Top 100 Players Right Now list on Wednesday. Acuña cemented his place at the top as he produced the first 40-homer, 70-stolen base season in AL/NL history last year. Could he produce a 50-50 season this year?

It might seem unlikely. But it’s also unwise to put a ceiling on what this Braves outfielder can do.

The Braves had an MLB-best nine players on the Top 100 list.

Who holds the Atlanta record (since 1966) for hitting the most batters in one season?

A) Phil Niekro
B) Tim Hudson
C) Charlie Morton
D) Jair Jurrjens

• Chris Sale’s words and actions validate his belief he can stay healthy this season. He created a couple of laughs after throwing his first live BP of the year on Thursday.

• Jarred Kelenic might be the happiest man in Braves camp. Without directly ripping any of his previous employers, he has repeatedly said how much he appreciates how Atlanta does things. He talked about his early camp experience on Wednesday.

• Spencer Strider can be both intense and hilarious, sometimes at the same time. Anyhow, you might also get a laugh or two when you read what he said after he threw his first live BP on Monday.

Marcell Ozuna is going to get his wish to play first base during some Grapefruit League games this year. The 2017 Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder can credit the opportunity he took advantage of while playing first base during the intrasquad games played before last year’s postseason.

Ozuna’s days as an outfielder ended when his arm strength and range fell off. But the designated hitter may have revived his defensive career by showing just enough mobility during those pretend games in October. Now, he just has to convince Matt Olson to take a day off. Olson has been the Braves’ starting first baseman in every game over the past two seasons.

C) Morton hit a franchise-high 18 batters in 2022. He broke the record he had set the year before, when he plunked 17. Morton and Niekro are the only Atlanta pitchers who have tallied 10-plus HBPs in three seasons. Teheran is the only other to do it multiple times. 

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