ATLANTA -- A homegrown baseball player is about to make his major league debut.
The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday they are calling up right-handed pitcher Lucas Sims, and he will make his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday at SunTrust Park.
Sims, 23, was the Braves' 1st round draft pick in 2012 out of Brookwood High School in Lawrenceville. He's the Braves' No. 19 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. While he struggled in the minors last season, he seems to have worked on his mechanics and command.
This season in Triple-A Gwinnett, he's 7-4 with a 3.75 ERA. He has 132 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .224 against him. He's given up 19 home runs this season. But he's improved his strikeout/walk ratio thanks to a mid-90s fastball and tricky curveball.
Sims is the second starting pitcher making a big league debut with the Braves this season. Sean Newcomb made his debut in June.
While his first games looked promising, Sims has been shaky. He's allowed 20 earned runs in the month of July.
Sims was called up after the trade deadline passed on Monday. The Braves made no moves. Last week, they traded starting pitcher Jamie Garcia to the Minnesota Twins for pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa.
Aaron Blair had been called up, but he can't seem to shake his struggles in the big league. Now it's Sims turn to show what he can do.
Sims was the Georgia Region 8 5-A Pitcher of the year in 2012 after leading Brookwood to the state championship game. He has been a lifelong Braves fan.
