Michael Soroka's start for Gwinnett on Tuesday went really well

The Canadian righty, attempting to come back from a twice-ruptured Achilles, looked good against the Norfolk Tides

Michael Soroka, attempting to return from a twice-ruptured Achilles originally suffered in the shortened 2020 season, wasn't successful in his bid to win a job in the Braves rotation out of Spring Training. A hamstring strain, suffered the day before pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report, left him behind the 8-ball in camp and resulted in his assignment to AAA Gwinnett on March 23rd.

He's making the best out of the assignment, though. 

Starting for the Stripers on the road against the Norfolk Tides, Soroka's 2023 debut in AAA was a successful one, with "Maple Maddux" going 3.1 innings with four hits, one run, and no walks with three strikeouts. 

20 seconds of Michael Soroka's stuff from tonight. pic.twitter.com/Abl0GH22SV

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2023

The time away from competition rehabbing the leg injuries has resulted in a pitcher that's noticeably thicker, in a good way, in the lower half. Soroka's velocity has improved accordingly - after averaging just under 92 mph on his fastball in 2019 and 91 in 2020, he averaged 93 mph against Norfolk and ran it up to 95 on occasion. He got nine swinging strikes in his 61 pitches (37 strikes), collecting five on the slider (also two MPH faster), two on the changeup, and two on the fastball. The only run he allowed was on a solo homerun by 1B Ryan O'Hearn in the second inning. 

Michael Soroka looks really good tonight 👀 his velo and spin rates are up across the board https://t.co/8u7e67mSOk pic.twitter.com/1FZzn4OvrB

— Kevin Keneely (@KevinKeneely1) April 4, 2023

For as long as we've been watching Soroka attempt to come back from two ruptures of the Achilles, a difficult accomplishment for any professional athlete but doubly so for a pitcher, it's easy to forget just how good Michael Soroka was for Atlanta. 

When he debuted in 2018 at age 20, he was one of the youngest pitchers in Major League Baseball, and quickly became one of the best.  In 2018 & 2019, he threw 200.1 innings with a 2.79 ERA, going 15-5 for Atlanta and not only being named a 2019 All-Star, but coming in 2nd for Rookie of the Year and 6th in Cy Young voting.  

 If Atlanta can get Mike Soroka back to 90% of what he was at age 21, it'll be an incredible boost to a rotation that had World Series aspirations upon entering camp in 2023 but is already without starters Max Fried (hamstring) and Kyle Wright (shoulder). 

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