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Manny Banuelos: Poised for September Return?

By Jonathan Savitske

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Rookie southpaw Manny Banuelos is poised to make a return to the Atlanta Braves starting rotation in September, following a stint on the Disabled List due to a bone spur in his left elbow.

The Atlanta Braves sent Manny Banuelos to the Disabled List at the end of July, concerned that there may be a problem with his surgically repaired left elbow following Tommy John Surgery in 2013. Before his injury, Manny Banuelos pitched  104 innings for AAA Gwinnett and has threw 21.2 innings at the big league level for the Braves before succumbing to the injury.

-= Related: Mike Foltynewicz: Progressing Quicker Than We Believe? =-

Manny Banuelos made his first rehab start for the Gwinnett Braves on Thursday night, the AJC’s Dave O’Brien reports, taking another step towards his return to the the big-league club.

Before being sent to the Disabled List, Manny Banuelos showed flashes of his potential, re-affirming why he was highly regarded in the New York Yankees system before his Tommy John Surgery, and why Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart acquired him this past offseason. In 2015, Banuelos has a 2.49 ERA in 4 starts with the Braves, and was 6-2 with a 2.29 ERA at AAA Gwinnett.

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    • Because the recovery from Tommy John Surgery is so unpredictable, when Manny Banuelos left a July 28th game with discomfort in his left elbow, the Braves were understandably concerned that he may have exceeded his ability to pitch this season. In 2014 in the Yankees system, Banuelos pitched 76.1 innings coming back from the surgery, while this season he has pitched 106.1 innings as an aggregate total between AAA and the majors.

    Once Manny Banuelos returns the Atlanta Braves rotation, it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off before his injury. Many young pitchers struggle to regain their confidence coming back from the Disabled List, evidenced with Braves’ rookie Williams Perez since coming back from an ankle injury suffered in June.

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    With the exception of Max Fried, Banuelos is the most promising lefty in the Braves’ stable of young pitching, and his development is of paramount importance to the clubs aspiration of becoming a contender by the 2017 season when the club moves to Cobb County and SunTrust Park.

    As Co-Editor John Buhler wrote earlier this week, Mike Foltynewicz has seemingly progressed further than all of the other Braves’ rookies so far. Perhaps Banuelos can do the same in September without shouldering the expectations of pitching for a contending team. 

    Next: Atlanta Braves Welcome Yankees to Turner Field

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