The Atlanta Braves will play a one-off game against the San Francisco Giants on Monday afternoon.
Atlanta is going for their eighth straight win. After their single game with the Giants, the Braves head on the road to face the Washington Nationals.
Before the Nationals series started, the Braves announced that 25-year-old pitching prospect Blake Burkhalter will be called up to make his MLB debut. *MLB rosters are set to expand from 26 to 28 on Tuesday.
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The official roster move will come on Tuesday before the Nationals series, but Braves reporter Mark Bowman notes that Blake Burkhalter is being called up.
He’s the 15th-ranked prospect in the Braves organization.
MLBTR.com’s Steve Adams wrote (about Burkhalter):
“Burkhalter, 25, was eligible for selection in last year’s Rule 5 draft but wasn’t chosen. He was coming off a strong 3.32 ERA in 103 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, but Burkhalter posted middling rate stats that apparently gave other teams enough pause to forgo selecting him. He then had a back injury pop up in spring training and missed the first two months of the season as a result.”
“Since returning from injury, Burkhalter has been excellent. He’s moved into a full-time relief role after working as a starter early in his career and splitting time between the rotation and ‘pen last season. In 35 2/3 innings, the 6’, 205-pound righty has a 1.26 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 37.6% ground-ball rate.”
MLB veteran infielder Kyle Farmer will also be getting recalled as part of the upcoming roster moves.
More on Pitching Prospect Blake Burkhalter
Across 215.1 IP in the minors over four seasons, Burkhalter carries a strong 2.88 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 77 total appearances (33 starts).
In 2026, he has pitched across four different levels in the minors. Focusing on his time with AAA Gwinnett, Burkhalter has an ERA of 1.48 across 24.1 IP.
Per MiLB.com, here is some of his prospect bio:
“The Braves moved Burkhalter to the ‘pen when he got to Triple-A, but his stuff didn’t tick up all that much. He’s around the strike zone, but without the kind of command you’d like to see from a starter, and he doesn’t feature the kind of bat-missing stuff to profile as a reliever. There was a little buzz about him ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, but he wasn’t selected, so he can focus on carving out a multi-inning/swingman/spot starter type of role in the future.”
One would assume he will likely be used in a bullpen role once he’s officially on the Braves roster, and with injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and Spencer Strider, Burkhalter will have an opportunity to make a name for himself at the MLB level.
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