Under normal and fully healthy circumstances, the Atlanta Braves could have increased Mike Soroka‘s workload to something in the 170 innings range in 2018.
That’s estimate is based on his solid progression through the minors (154 innings in AA during 2017), though it’s still quite a bit for a 20-year-old.
Instead, he managed less than 58 innings in 2018 when his shoulder felt abnormally sore. Just that revelation sent shudders through Braves fans everywhere… elbow issues are bad enough, but elbows can be fixed. Shoulders are another matter entirely.
BaseballAmerica has a nice post up about Mike and the journey he’s gone through over the past 9 months or so.