Braves keep top pitching prospect Soroka on standby

The Braves called up hitting phenom Ronald Acuna lastweek, and their pitching ph en om could be up next. But for now, it looks like Mike Soroka will likely wait at least a little longer to make his debut. Top pitching prospect Soroka was scratched from his scheduled start Sunday for Triple-AG winnett, giving the Braves a fallback option in case Julio Teheran or Anibal Sanchez aren’t ready to pitch in the coming week. Themove bought time for the Braves to evaluate Teheran and they Sanchez after threw bullpen sessions Sunday and after Sanchez tested his right ham string with running drills for the second consecutive day. Braves manager Brian Snitker said both pitchers felt good after Sunday’s work on the side the as Braves defeated the Phillies 10-1. Both remain on schedule, with Teheran set to pitch on regular rest Wednesday against the Mets and Sanchez penciled in to come offff the disabled list and start Saturday against the Giants. Teheran left a start Friday after three innings with tightness in his upper right trapezi us behind his shoulder. “He felt good (Sunday),” Snitker said. “He’s on track. I talked to him after he threw.” Sanchez has been on the 10-day disabled list since straining his hamstring April 18. Sanchez will face Braves batters in simulated-game conditions Tuesday in New York as a final test before determining if he’s ready. “Anibal was good today,” Snitker said. “We’re going to do the sim game on Tuesday in New York. He’s pushing to be ready for Saturday right now, unless something happens. They both are feeling real good.” If the Braves bring up Soroka, they would have the three youngest players in the major leagues on their 25-man roster: The 20-yearold Canadian right-hander is four months older than Acuna and seven months younger than Ozzie Albies. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in a recent interviewthat Soroka was “very, very close” to being ready for the majors. Rated 27th in Baseball America’ sp re season Top 100 prospects, Soroka is 2-0with a 1.99 ERA in four Triple-A starts, with 24 strikeouts and five walks in 22⅔ innings. A first-round draft pick out of highschool in2015, Soroka is 22-19 with a 3.44 ERA in 65 games ( 63 starts), including 11-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 26 starts last season at Double-A Mississippi. He had 125 strikeouts and 34 walks in 153⅔ innings at Mississippi in his first season above Single-A ball.