ATLANTA, Ga.- Former Bob Jones star baseball player Grant Dayton has made the roster of the Atlanta Braves and starts the 2021 season where he left off last season.

Picked up off waivers during the 2019 campaign, Dayton played all of last year with the Braves pitching in 18 games with a 2-1 record and a 2.30 earned-run average. He helped the Braves to the post-season playoffs and to the National League Championship Series losing to the eventual World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he made his Major League debut on July 22, 2016.

In his career, Dayton has played in 86 games and 89 innings with 105 strikeouts. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefthander is expected to be a main relief pitcher for the National League Braves playing in the East Division.

Signed with Auburn University out of Bob Jones, Dayton was selected in round 11 of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Florida Marlins. He was later signed by the Dodgers, but underwent the very invasive and complex “Tommy John Surgery” to repair elbow damage to his throwing arm and missed a good part of the 2017 season and all of 2018 before joining the Braves for a partial season in 2019.

Late last year on his 33^rd birthday, Dayton made national headlines when he was presented with special EnChroma glasses designed for color blindness, which Dayton has suffered. He was presented his special birthday present by his wife, Cori, and their sons Decker and Nolan. Once he was given the glasses, Dayton was near speechless.

“I didn’t know until I was in my 20’s that I was color blind as it was hard for me to believe,” said Dayton. “Growing up the only trouble I really had was when I went fishing or hunting as the wildlife would blend in the surrounding nature. I thought it was normal. I didn’t know what I’ve been missing all my life as now I see vibrant colors, especially the color red that scream at me.”

The Braves have been projected to win the East Division and a favorite to compete for a World Series title.