Atlanta Braves Bullpen Faltering. Solutions? Kohn/Cornely promoted
*Of note, this piece was written prior to today’s transactions. Look to the last page for the rebuttal to today’s moves*
Atlanta Braves promote Michael Kohn and John Cornely
In a move to try and shore up a struggling bullpen, the Braves have called on 2 relievers from Gwinnett to help stop the proverbial bleeding. Here’s the scoop on both:
Michael Kohn- picked up in the offseason from the Angels, throws a mid-90s fastball and a “slurve” that is his out pitch. Has had issues with walks in the past so look for him to overcome that obstacle before being put into high leverage situations.
John Cornely- some think he has closer stuff. Mid-90s fastball, but like Kohn, has struggled with command in the past. Has looked incredible at Gwinnett this year and could be inserted into high-leverage situations right away.
The Atlanta Braves bullpen destroyed opposing hitters…
for the first 5 games. Then enters Juan Jaime in the 8th inning on Sunday, April 12th, walks 3 hitters only recording 1 out then gets bailed out by Andrew McKirahan (who’s the latest MLB cheater), and the bubble simply burst from there. Check out these eye-popping differences:
First 5 games: 18 IP 0R 21 strikeouts 0.00 ERA
Next 10 games: 36 IP 20R 33 strikeouts 6.33 ERA
What’s the biggest difference for Atlanta Braves bullpen?
First and foremost, the bullpen wasn’t very good to begin with as the depth was seriously challenged by the loss of Craig Kimbrel, David Carpenter, Jordan Walden, David Hale, and Anthony Varvaro via trades, and Shae Simmons via Tommy John surgery. Add on to that the losses of cheaters Arodys Vizcaino and Andrew McKirahan and the Braves are in a pickle…and that’s not a very good dill. Pickle puns. Seriously?
Arguably, the Braves traded away and/or lost to injury every effective reliever from 2014. Wowsers!
Moving that out of the way, let’s take a look at Atlanta Braves Jim Johnson
According to Fangraphs, Jim’s sinker has still not rebounded from last year and his entire repertoire relies on its effectiveness. In addition, although it’s an extremely small sample size, JJ doesn’t seem to do well while his partner in crime is A.J. Pierzynski. In fact, every single earned run that he has allowed has come at the expense of throwing to A.J. For now, that doesn’t mean much but keep that info in your back pocket. We already know that A.J., while being a good offensive catcher, adds little to no value with his catching ability.
While Jim has been Jekyll&Hyde thus far, there is some positive takeaways:
1. His ground ball rate is 78% for the year. With Andrelton Simmons manning almost the entire infield (and part of the outfield), that is a good thing.
2. His BABIP against is .391, meaning he’s been very unlucky on this young season.
3. His HR/FB ratio is 67% compared to a career rate of 9%. Obviously this is going to drop.
Look for Jim to rebound under the guidance of Roger McDowell.
When Jim rebounds, what do the Atlanta Braves do to the rest of their bullpen?
It’s blatantly obvious that Fredi’s bullpen is held together by Elmer’s glue, duct tape, and congealed high fructose corn syrup, and that likely won’t change without a significant change to the 7 that’s occupying the spots. There are pitchers pitching in roles unfamiliar to their background due to ineffectiveness from others and the cheating from the former Cubs pitchers acquired. There are also pitchers on the roster that are repetitive and, in a perfect ‘pen, would only be occupying 1 spot instead of multiple. It is my opinion that the Braves could make 1 move to shore up an imperfect crew of pitchers and it could make a world of difference in the results…but it isn’t an ideal solution.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
The NEW (and improved?) Atlanta Braves Bullpen
The roles need to be refined, pitchers put back to their strengths, and bring in some new blood to mix it up! 7 spots to fill!
1. Long man/Spot Starter, Cody Martin: Cody has 4 pitches while most relievers have only 2, maybe 3. Reason is simple: Cody isn’t a reliever. Cody’s 4 pitches are average Major League pitches and would be best utilized when opposing teams see him 1 time per series, not multiple times. Used as a spot starter/long man in relief, Cody could be a carbon-copy to David Hale.
2. 6th-7th inning guy, Luis Avilan: My favorite story of the offseason comes from Luis Avilan who called Eric O’Flaherty asking for advice on how to rediscover his “stuff”. O’Flaherty replied, “Get in shape, you’re too fat”. Avilan has looked pretty doggone good thus far and deserves a role that doesn’t tie him down to just facing left-handed hitters as he’s shown he can be effective against all hitters.
3. Other 6th-7th inning guy, Brandon Cunniff: Has got to get the walks down, but aside from that, Cunniff has proven that he’s capable of sending Major Leaguers back to the bench with frowny faces. He’s essentially doing the same thing in the MLB that he showed in the MILB and deserves a defined role.
4. The LOOGY, Ian Thomas: He’s been walk prone in his 12 innings in the MLB, but that’s never been a problem for Ian in the Minors. Give him a chance as the team’s LOOGY because he has shown that he’s very capable of getting LHHs out in the Minors.
5. The Ground Ball Specialist, Jim Johnson: Johnson’s true calling is his ability to get a ground ball from opposing hitters. He’s been great as a closer in the past, but has struggled with 8th inning duties. Let’s get him some chances to succeed in a role his sinker is made for…double plays.
6. The 8th inning guy, Michael Foltynewicz: Yes, Folty has struggled with walks, but in a clean slate inning, Folty could be a top-tier reliever. While his ceiling is a front of the rotation starter, his true calling for Atlanta might be in a closer’s role. Let’s see how successful he can be in the 8th, then decide his future role from there.
(*Note on this move: Frequent commenter and former writer for Tomahawk Take, Lee Trocinzki informed me that Folty’s arb-clock has already started due to his call-up being prior to the September roster expansions last year).
7. The closer, Jason Grilli: He’s been nothing short of spectacular since taking over for Craig Kimbrel, therefore his role deservedly remains the same.
New moves today change roles. What do Atlanta Braves do now?
With John Cornely and Michael Kohn being promoted and the likelihood of Sugar Ray Marimon and Ian Thomas being demoted, the Braves are looking to try something, rather going with the strategy of giving numerous pitchers chances to succeed and see what sticks which is a strategy I suggested they try last week (and I agree with):
“Give the other David Carpenter, Michael Kohn, John Cornely, Ian Thomas, and other unmentioned, a shot to prove/disprove their worth, and claim that 7th inning. When it sticks, keep it.”
Only time will tell what happens with this bullpen. Hopefully, Cornely and Kohn can provide more stability to the late innings, but if they don’t, look for the Braves to give Folty the chance to gain a late-inning role sometime in the future.
Edit 1: The players sent back to Gwinnett were Brandon Cunniff and Sugar Ray Marimon. Cunniff is a bit of a head scratcher, but the Braves didn’t want Avilan to be the only LHP.