How was he acquired?
The Braves drafted Sinnard in the third round of the 2024 draft, using the 99th overall pick to take the righty out of Indiana University. When the Braves took Sinnard, there was a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to reactions. On the one hand, his 6’8, 250-pound frame provided some tantalizing potential, but the college results just didn’t back those hopes up, as Sinnard posted an ERA of 4.27 across 16 starts with the Hoosiers in 2023. Regardless, the scouting staff felt as though Sinnard’s underlying metrics showed there was more to work with.
What were the 2025 expectations?
To put it frankly, there weren’t too many expectations for Sinnard entering this season, as he had yet to make his professional debut as the Braves took their time with him after he required Tommy John surgery during his junior year of college. In turn, fans and those on Atlanta’s player development side were simply eager to see Sinnard in action in a professional setting.
Given his injury history and being almost two full years since he had thrown a pitch, the Braves were understandably going to be cautious with ramping Sinnard up. Essentially, whatever the Braves could get out of Sinnard in 2025 was to be considered a win.
2025 results
Sinnard made his first professional appearance on April 8, getting the start with Augusta in what was essentially an opener-style outing as he only went two-thirds of an inning. From that point forward, Sinnard continued to go deeper into games and eventually made seven starts – during which he spun a 0.92 ERA with the GreenJackets. His best low-A performance came on May 14 where he spun six scoreless innings while striking out nine and allowing just three hits and one walk on the night.
Shortly thereafter, Sinnard was promoted to Rome where he made his first start for the Emperors on May 28, which wasn’t great after he gave up five earned runs in 5.2 innings. From that point forward, Sinnard began to slowly settle in to high-A ball. While his ERA wasn’t quite where you’d want it to be – 4.19 across nine starts for Rome – Sinnard did an excellent job keeping the ball in the yard, as he only allowed a pair of homers in those starts. The big issue Sinnard will have moving forward, like any pitcher of his stature, will be command.
What has been really encouraging for Sinnard, has been his performance in the Arizona Fall League so far. In three starts for Glendale, Sinnard has spun a stellar 1.13 ERA to go along with 11 strikeouts and just a pair of walks against some of the best prospect competition in the sport.
2026 outlook
As for 2026, there’s a decent chance Sinnard returns to Rome to start the season, but with a quick turn around to get the bump up to Columbus after a start or two. If he is able to replicate his AFL performance into next season, Sinnard could be setting himself up for an incredible 2026 campaign.
With his injury history and putting together a higher workload than he is accustomed to in 2025, there’s reason to believe the Braves won’t push Sinnard too aggressively in 2026. However, as we have seen time and time again with this front office, if a pitcher is performing and their health is a-okay, there won’t be too many discussions about giving a guy like Sinnard the green light to skip a level and help out the big league club at some point next season. It’s a bit of a long shot, but not totally out of the realm of possibility that we see Sinnard wearing an Atlanta uniform next year.