Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Rising prospect wins South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Chase Irle | Last updated 5/3/24

Last week, I talked about the Braves next young star emerging on the farm in Owen Murphy.

A 2022 first round draft pick, Murphy has been by far the most impressive prospect on the farm through the first month of the season. He owns a 1.13 ERA through four starts in High-A Rome with 37 strikeouts over 24 innings. Opponents are hitting just .110 off of him, and some of these game lines are flat out insane.

Game 1: 6.2 innings, 0 earned runs, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts

Game 2: 5.1 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts

Game 3: 5.0 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 hits, 11 strikeouts

Game 4: 7.0 innings, 0 earned runs, 1 hit, 10 strikeouts

Today, Murphy was awarded the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month.

Man of the month.

Owen Murphy’s atomic April lands him South Atlantic League Pitcher Of The Month. @MiLB | #RuleTheLand pic.twitter.com/PrgXEDA4Z2

— Rome Emperors (@GoEmperors) May 3, 2024

Murphy was downright unhittable through the first month of the season. At just 20-years-old, he already looks like a man amongst boys at the High-A level. I don’t expect the Braves to push him too hard this season because of his age and the fact that they already have so many starting pitchers at the upper levels.

However, they have never been hesitant to challenge their most talented young prospects, and Murphy belongs in that category. A promotion to AA Mississippi could be in his near future, which will really give us an idea of how far along he is in his development.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: