{"id":674180,"date":"2026-04-12T15:24:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T15:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674180\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T15:24:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T15:24:22","slug":"braves-1st-round-pick-never-signed-left-for-japan-and-may-have-path-back-to-mlb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674180\/","title":{"rendered":"Braves’ 1st-round pick never signed, left for Japan \u2014 and may have path back to MLB"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves<\/a> drafted Carter Stewart in 2018 with the No. 8 overall pick in the MLB Draft.<\/p>\n

He didn’t sign, though, and instead he has traveled an unprecedented path. Stewart went to play professionally in Japan.<\/p>\n

Nearly a decade later, Stewart is starting to make the case that it might be time for him to return to MLB.<\/p>\n

“The SoftBank starter is sitting 94 mph on his fastball (touching 97) and locating it effectively at the top of the zone to set up his high-70s curveball, which is averaging over 3,100 RPM and has been his calling card since high school,” writes Yuri Karasawa of Just Baseball<\/a>. “What stands out most, however, is his increased comfort with a mid-80s splitter as a true putaway weapon. He\u2019s boosted the usage on it from 22% versus righties and 25% versus lefties in 2024 to 35% against both, generating a 59% whiff rate overall.”<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Jazz Chisholm didn’t even know rules as he messed up ending of Yankees’ game<\/a><\/p>\n

Stewart would be a free agent if he eventually entered into an offseason with the intention of coming to MLB. He never actually signed a contract with the Braves, so they don’t hold any kind of rights toward him.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear yet whether such a move might happen, but it’s becoming more realistic as Stewart continues to develop as a pitcher.<\/p>\n

“Indeed, despite towering over most of his NPB peers at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Stewart\u2019s gradual progression toward the Japanese mold is increasingly evident, with more polished mechanics and a splitter-heavy arsenal,” Karasawa writes.<\/p>\n

For Stewart to be a logical choice for MLB, he’ll have to prove this season he can be more durable than he has been. Injuries have slowed him down in NPB.<\/p>\n

“Now, the 26-year-old\u2019s focus will be on staying healthy and eclipsing the 120-inning mark for the first time in his career,” Karasawa writes. “Whether he remains in Japan long-term or eventually returns stateside, every step of Stewart\u2019s journey reflects that of an international baseball trailblazer.”<\/p>\n

Looking back, Stewart didn’t really start a trend. There haven’t been other youngsters going to play in Japan.<\/p>\n

But he’s still out there, potentially with a path back to Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n

More MLB news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Braves drafted Carter Stewart in 2018 with the No. 8 overall pick in the MLB Draft.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-674180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-braves","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-braves","10":"tag-atlantabraves","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-braves","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116392431642478692","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}