Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images Atlanta Braves news and notes from Wednesday Reynaldo Lopez continued his impressive work on Wednesday, with a strong seven inning outing that helped Atlanta to the series sweep after some late-game chaos. Reynaldo has now allowed two runs this season, after allowing his first home run of the season for the only run he allowed Wednesday. Much baseball remains to be played, but right now the front offices decision to sign him and use him as a starter is looking like great value, which will provide a lot of flexibility for the team in the playoffs as well. His strikeout rate has taken a significant dip as a starter, but is still in a perfectly reasonable range, and he is keeping the walks under control. He is due for some regression in runs allowed, as he will likely give up home runs at a higher rate than he has so far and will not be able to strand so many batters, but is still undeniably pitching well and providing excellent value to the Braves. This is all the more important with the absence of Spencer Strider. Braves News Ivan took a quick look at Max Fried’s fast-paced style, which has been the fastest of any Braves’ regular in the recent years. The Athletic recently polled MLB executives on front offices around the league recently. Unsurprisingly to anyone paying attention to the last 6 years, the Braves ranked very highly. Reynaldo Lopez pitched another gem and the bullpen largely backed him up with some help from the defense, despite a bit of bad luck that necessitated an extra inning walk-off instead of an easy 9-inning win. MLB News The Marlins are moving AJ Puk back to the bullpen after he started the season in the rotation and got injured. The former top A’s prospect has had quite the saga through his professional career so far. Speaking of former top prospects, the Cubs recalled Pete Crow-Armstrong from AAA, as Cody Bellinger hit the IL with two fractured ribs. There is not currently a public timeline for Bellinger. Guardians’ Gavin Williams is being shut back down due to some experienced elbow discomfort. He was just trying to come back from inflammation he had in the same elbow this spring. In further pitcher injury news, Blake Snell is hitting the IL with an abductor strain, continuing the frustrating belated start to his season, after his notoriously long free agent saga. Brayan Bello is also hitting the IL with right lat tightness. He is one of many Red Sox injuries this season, although perhaps one of the more disappointing, as he recently signed an extension with the team. The Cardinals optioned recently graduated top prospect Jordan Walker to triple-A, amidst a brutal start to his second major league season. Walker had a solid debut season at only 20 years old, but has not been able to build on that so far.

Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images It’s officially Draft Eve, and hosts Kevin Knight and Adnan Ikic are here to conduct one final live Falcons mock draft with the help of Eric Robinson (ESPN). The trio breaks down Atlanta’s choices at each pick, considering trades, prospects, and all the rumors we’ve heard up until this point. Fellow Falcoholics, welcome to episode 284 of The Falcoholic Live! It’s officially NFL Draft Eve, and hosts Kevin Knight and Adnan Ikic are here to conduct one final live Atlanta Falcons mock draft with the help of Eric Robinson (ESPN). The trio breaks down Atlanta’s choices at each pick, considering trades, prospects, and all the rumors we’ve heard up until this point. Watch the stream below or on YouTube beginning at 8 PM ET You can also listen to all of our video shows in an audio-only podcast format, available on all your favorite podcast platforms or by using the player below. The podcast typically posts the morning after the live show records. If you’re interested in supporting the show, become a Channel Member or check out our Patreon page to unlock access to exclusive perks including Patron Q&A sessions, Discord perks, live shout-outs and more! Be sure to check out the new community Discord server here! Come chat with your fellow Falcons fans about the show, the team, the NFL draft, and more. You can watch the show here on The Falcoholic, but we recommend watching on YouTube for the best experience—including full 1080p HD video and access to the live Q&A in the chat. You can also access the show using your smart TV or device using the YouTube app for the real big-screen experience! We hope you enjoy the show! If you have comments, we’d love to hear them. Send them to us on Twitter (@FalcoholicLive), leave them below, or e-mail the show at falcoholiclive@gmail.com. Thanks for watching!

Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Braves look to continue their dominance of the Marlins Wednesday night at Truist Park. The Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins will wrap up a three-game series Wednesday night at Truist Park. Atlanta won the first two games and have yet to allow a run to the Marlins in the series. Reynaldo López will look to keep it going for the Braves Wednesday while the Marlins will go with Sixto Sanchez in what will most likely be a bullpen game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South. Game Notes Wednesday’s Preview Wednesday’s Lineups

Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images In the lead-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, Falcons fans are nearly unified in their desire to bolster the pass rush with Atlanta’s first-round pick. Fans also believe the team is likely to trade down. Draft Eve is here, with the 2024 NFL Draft officially kicking off on Thursday and continuing through Saturday. Be sure to join our crew on all three days of the draft for our Falcons Draft Party, now celebrating our eighth straight year of coverage! Before we get to the draft itself, we asked Falcons fans for their final thoughts on which position group Atlanta should target in the first round, and whether or not they believe the team will trade down from the eighth overall pick. Unsurprisingly, fans were pretty unified in their desire to address the perpetual pass rush deficiency in Atlanta. An overwhelming 76% of Falcons fans want the team to target edge rusher with their first pick—whether that’s at 8, or somewhere lower on the board. That lines up well with my expectations, as I recently sent UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Alabama’s Dallas Turner to the Falcons in my final mock drafts. There’s no doubt that Atlanta has a serious need at the position, the question is whether or not the Falcons view any of the edge rushers in this class as worthy of the eighth overall pick. We’ve heard plenty of buzz that Atlanta is also interested in the top cornerbacks available in this class, like Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell and Alabama’s Terrion Arnold, as well as Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. There’s also the team’s interest in Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to consider. In my estimation, it’s unlikely that either Latu or Turner would be “best player available” at 8—but could easily be after a trade down into the early teens. Which Falcons fans also have some thoughts about. A clear majority of Falcons fans believe that Atlanta will trade down from the eighth overall pick—66% in total. Even more than that, 52% of fans think that trade will be into the early teens. That also lines up with my personal expectations, as I think the team’s best trade partners are likely the New York Jets (10th overall), whoever trades back with the Minnesota Vikings (11th), the Denver Broncos (12th), and the Las Vegas Raiders (13th). While I wouldn’t rule out a trade to 15 with the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars (17th), or Los Angeles Rams (19th)—like I did in the SB Nation Writers’ Mock—those are a bit more risky for the Falcons. The best way for Atlanta to pick up additional Day 2 picks and/or future draft capital while still having a strong chance at securing their edge rusher of choice is to go no lower than 13. With Fontenot confirming that plenty of teams have interest in the eighth overall pick, we’ll all be waiting in suspense to see which prospects wind up falling to Atlanta’s selection. Whether we see the third receiver, OT Joe Alt, or one of the top-4 quarterbacks slip to 8, the Falcons should have plenty of suitors. It’ll come down to if the offers are good enough to convince Atlanta to move off their spot. This year, more than any year in the past, I think that will ultimately be the case. What are your thoughts on Atlanta’s top draft targets, and the team’s potential to trade down from the eighth overall pick? Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.