diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvserver/stores.go b/pkg/kv/kvserver/stores.go
index b18c2c24468a..554d3bc65277 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvserver/stores.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvserver/stores.go
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ func (ls *Stores) SendWithWriteBytes(
 	ctx context.Context, ba roachpb.BatchRequest,
 ) (*roachpb.BatchResponse, *kvadmission.StoreWriteBytes, *roachpb.Error) {
 	if err := ba.ValidateForEvaluation(); err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf(ctx, "invalid batch (%s): %s", ba, err)
+		return nil, nil, roachpb.NewError(errors.Wrapf(err, "invalid batch (%s)", ba))
 	}
 
 	store, err := ls.GetStore(ba.Replica.StoreID)