Lara made his debut for Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, working a scoreless inning of relief with one walk and one strikeout.
Atlanta kept the flame-throwing right-hander in the rotation at Double-A Columbus to begin the season, but an 11.21 ERA and 19 walks in 17.2 innings may have finally settled the question of whether Lara would be better suited to the bullpen. Per Gwinnett broadcaster Dave Lezotte, Lara topped out at 101.1 miles per hour with his fastball in his Triple-A debut -- the fastest pitch thrown by a Gwinnett pitcher since velocity readings became available in 2023. On the other hand, only five of his 11 pitches found the strike zone, so the shift to a relief role hasn't solved his control issues. If Lara can harness his stuff a little better, he could be a high-leverage option for the big-league bullpen later this season given his dominant fastball/slider combination.
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Braves' Jhancarlos Lara: Jumps up to Double-A
Rotowire
Atlanta promoted Lara from High-A Rome to Double-A Mississippi on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic will make the move to the Southern League after he compiled a 3.92 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 72 strikeouts over 62 innings at Rome. The right-hander was particularly sharp over his last four outings at High-A, turning in a 1.19 ERA and 34:7 K:BB over 22.2 frames.
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Braves' Jhancarlos Lara: Moves past hamstring injury
Rotowire
Lara (oblique) has compiled a 5.28 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 45:30 K:BB in 44.1 innings since reporting to High-A Rome on May 2.
Though he didn't open the season on Rome's injured list, he missed all of April while he completed his recovery from an oblique strain. Lara seems to have avoided any setbacks on the health front since joining Rome's rotation, but he's gotten off to a rough start to the season thanks in large part to his bloated 14.1 percent walk rate. The 21-year-old will likely need to improve his control if he's to stick on a starter's developmental track, but Lara probably has at least a couple of years to iron things out before Atlanta would contemplate shifting him to a relief role.
