In the race to see which power arm will bolster Atlanta's bullpen first, Rafael Soriano is a bit ahead of John Smoltz and Mike Gonzalez.

Six weeks after closer Soriano went on the DL with a sore elbow, he's finally set to begin what the Braves hope will be a brief minor-league rehab assignment.

Soriano is scheduled to pitch for Class AA Mississippi in games Wednesday and Friday. If those appearances are without incident, he'd be reevaluated to determine if he's ready to be activated.

The Dominican said there still was some minor soreness when he threw in the bullpen Sunday, though not enough to prevent him from throwing all his pitches, including his breaking ball.

Soriano said he wouldn't know if he's truly ready until he pitches in a game, with increased intensity and the arm stress that entails.

"In the bullpen [side sessions] it can be easy to throw," he said.

The Braves' relievers have pitched well despite the extended absence of Soriano and top setup man Peter Moylan, who's out for the season after reconstructive elbow surgery.

"Right now the bullpen's doing great," Soriano said. "When I come back, everything will be a little better."

Meanwhile, Smoltz and Gonzalez could both return in the next few weeks.

Gonzalez, approaching the May 31 one-year anniversary of his "Tommy John" elbow surgery, worked three hitless innings with three strikeouts and one walk Tuesday in an extended spring training game in Florida, where he's been pitching more than a month.

He's scheduled to pitch in back-to-back games Friday-Saturday, then be examined before starting a minor-league rehab assignment.

Smoltz has been out a month recovering from an inflamed rotator cuff and biceps tendon in his pitching shoulder, and will move from the starting rotation to the bullpen when he returns.

He had discomfort in two recent bullpen sessions and said on Sunday that he might make his originally targeted late-May return, or that it might take "a lot longer."

After seeing that comment make headlines, Smoltz said Tuesday he would curtail giving progress reports and timetables.

He threw another bullpen Tuesday. His report on the session was brief: "I threw off the mound, threw everything I needed to throw, and we're moving forward."