Bryce Elder Has Revived His Career Alongside League-Leading Braves

As of May 15, the Atlanta Braves have the best record in Major League Baseball.

While Atlanta has gotten incredible results from the likes of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II, the resurgence of a certain pitcher has catapulted the Braves back to the top of the National League.

Not only has Bryce Elder returned to his first-half 2023 form, but he’s gotten even better.

The numbers suggest that the 26-year-old is having his best season in the big leagues by far, but what has allowedW him to do so?

Bryce Elder’s Start is Not A Fluke

Given how Elder has performed in previous seasons, it’s easy to write this success off as a fluke. However, nine starts and 54.2 innings pitched are a large enough sample to conclude his season as legit. Elder struggled through 10 starts in 2024 with a 6.52 ERA across just 49.2 innings. He had a career-low ERA+ of 64— well below league average. He also allowed a career-high 11.6 hits per nine innings (H/9) and walked 3.1 batters per nine innings (BB/9).

Simply put, his 2024 season was a disaster, but two years later, he looks like a completely different pitcher. 

In 2024, Elder failed to pitch at least five innings in three of his nine starts. In 2026, he has pitched at least five innings in eight of his nine starts so far. What has allowed him to have success? For starters, Elder has only allowed three home runs this season. That equates to 0.49 HR/9, which ranks tied for ninth among starting pitchers. His ability to keep the ball in the park has been a critical part of his success.

His efficiency has allowed him to throw more innings, which helps the Braves’ bullpen. On the season, Elder has only thrown an average of 14.3 pitches per inning. This is the fifth-lowest mark among starting pitchers and a massive reason why he has pitched deeper into games this season. In 2024, Elder didn’t have a single outing in which he pitched at least seven innings. He’s done that twice so far in 2026.

Elder ranks seventh in innings pitched through nine starts (54.2) and has the lowest ERA in the National League so far (1.81). The numbers have been excellent, and his re-worked pitch arsenal is why.

Elder Has Been In The Lab

Despite ranking in the 16th percentile in average fastball velocity (92.1 MPH), Elder is still one of the most effective starting pitchers in the game. In 2024 and 2025, Elder threw a sinker more than 42% of the time. The issue was that the pitch was not effective. Elder allowed 11 home runs and 15 doubles on that pitch in 2025, and opponents slugged .463 against it. In 2024, he allowed a batting average of .344 against the sinker.

It was clear that his sinker was no longer effective, and he needed to change his pitch mix. In 2026, he cut the sinker usage down to 23% and has instead used the slider most often. He’s throwing the slider 31% of the time and has doubled his fastball usage from 12.3% in 2025 to 24.3% in 2026. All while cutting his sinker usage from over 40% in 2024 and 2025 down to 23% in 2026.

The final piece to the puzzle is a new pitch Elder added this season— the cutter.

Although Elder has only thrown the cutter 11.6% of the time, it has been effective. He’s only thrown it to left-handed hitters and has only allowed three hits against it the entire season. Like his fastball, he doesn’t throw it extraordinarily hard, only averaging 88.9 MPH on the cutter. The key for Elder is that his cutter has an 11.4-inch rise, which is higher than the average cutter.

In 2026, Elder has become a more well-rounded pitcher who is no longer reliant on the sinker for results.

Regression To The Mean Inevitable?

Is Bryce Elder due to regress?

His National League-runner-up 219 ERA+ is bound to come down at some point, but that doesn’t mean Elder will fall apart at some point. Over his first 17 starts in 2023, he posted a 2.45 ERA. During these outings, he struck out 80 batters and walked just 30 batters. He allowed eight home runs across the 17 starts, but he was still very effective. Unfortunately, his last 14 starts were the polar opposite of his first 17.

His ERA jumped from 2.45 to 5.75, and his FIP increased from 3.76 to 5.37 during the final 14 starts. Moreover, he allowed 11 home runs in this stretch while walking more batters (33) and striking out a lot less (48). Because of this, he allowed 46 earned runs, which was more than double what he allowed in the first 17 starts. 

A 2023 second-half regression seems unlikely. His 2024 and 2025 seasons were continuations of his final 14 starts of 2023, but his re-worked arsenal and newfound confidence have allowed Elder to become one of the best pitchers in MLB through the first month and a half.