Spencer Scwellenbach Has Gold Glove Awards in His Future

The Braves rookie righty's stelthy good defensive in 2024 could be a preview of the awards to come

He wasn't a finalist this season, but Spencer Schwellenbach could have Gold Glove Awards in his future Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson and starting pitcher Chris Sale have been named finalists for the Gold Glove Award at their respective positions. 

A notable absence among Braves players was rookie starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach. With award season arriving, Braves color analysts on Bally Sports South C.J. Nitkowski took to X (formerly Twitter) to point out how much the 24-year-old righty flashed the glove during his rookie campaign. 

In 123 innings pitched across 21 starts, Schwellenbach led all MLB pitchers in defensive runs saved.  

According to FanGraphs, since Nitowski didn’t mention the number, Schwellenabch had a 7 DRS in 2024. He had one more than the second place Jake Irvin. However, he pitched 64 fewer innings. 

Schwellenbach had a perfect fielding percentage in his rookie season. He was also seventh among pitchers for assists. 

Nitowski sees more recognition coming for Schwellenbach’s defense in the future.  

“He's not a Gold Glove finalist this year but a GG is coming,” he said. “He's special in a lot of ways.”

This defense makes for a nice bonus to his game. He was stellar on the mound with a 3.35 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. 

Being a reliable starter and fielder would put him into some great company. The Braves have a somewhat of a pitcher’s gold glove dynasty. A Braves pitcher has taken home the gold glove 19 times in the award’s 67-year history.

That’s an award winner 28% of the time. That’s a higher win rate than the Yankees winning World Series titles (23%). 

The leader among the Braves all time is Greg Maddux. Long time Braves fans aren’t surprised by that at all. He had 10 of the 19 Gold Gloves. Second to him is Phil Neikro with five followed by Max Fried with three. Four total pitchers have won it. 

Perhaps the next name on the list to rack up awards has arrived. If Schwellenbach keeps it up, it could be as soon as next season.