The Atlanta Braves are looking for someone to give innings to the rotation for 2019. Could Lance Lynn offer both an innings eater and some upside as well?
The Atlanta Braves have some very exciting, dynamic pitchers that have already worked their way to the major leagues. Because of this, there’s not exactly a huge push for pitchers that are “questionable” with upside for the Braves this offseason, as they have that in droves, with big-time upside out of the guys in-house. What the team needs is innings, and that’s one thing Lance Lynn has offered throughout his career.
Player Profile
Lance Lynn was originally drafted out of high school in Indiana in the 6th round by the Seattle Mariners. He chose instead to attend the University of Mississippi. His choice paid off, as the Cardinals made him the 39th overall selection in the 2008 draft.
In spite of being a college arm, Lynn did take a few years to break through, but it wasn’t due to a lack of speed through the Cardinals system. In his first full season in the minors in 2009, Lynn made it all the way up to AAA. He would pitch all of 2010 in AAA and open 2011 there as well before getting a call to the big league club, primarily as a reliever, to close out the 2011 season.
He showed well enough to earn his way onto the NLCS and World Series roster that season for the Cardinals, tossing 11 innings of relief, with a 3.27 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 5/5 BB/K ratio.
He’d not be a primary reliever again in his career…