Atlanta Braves: Patrick Weigel Could Play a Big Role in 2019
The Atlanta Braves continue to develop great young talent, and that will need to continue if they are going to repeat as NL East champions in 2019.
One prospect who isn’t on a lot of radars right now that could make a major impact for the Atlanta Braves in 2019 is right-handed pitcher Patrick Weigel.
Right now he is currently ranked as the 21st best prospect in the Braves organization by MLB.com. At the end of the 2017 season he was ranked 16th.
The main reason the 2015 seventh-round draft pick is so low on the list — other than the Braves are loaded at the top — is because he missed almost all of last season because of Tommy John surgery.
He managed to come back at the end of the 2018 season to throw four huge innings, proving he was back to form.
It was huge for the Braves front office to see that he was back as that likely made their decision easy to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft.
Now we will get another look at him in Spring Training as he continues to work his way back from injury.
Before undergoing UCL surgery in June of 2017, Weigel had worked his way up to Triple-A. That season in Double-A he posted a 2.89 ERA in 37.1 innings with 38 strikeouts. He struggled in Gwinnett (5.27 ERA) before being shutdown.
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In 2016 he compiled a 2.47 ERA in 149.2 innings pitched with 152 strikeouts across Single-A and Double-A.
Overall, he has a career 3.25 ERA in the minors over 285.2 innings pitched with 277 strikeouts.
All but two of his 58 minor league appearances came as a starter. There is speculation that he could move to the bullpen in 2019.
If that’s the case, then Weigel has the chance to have a huge impact on the big league club, because if he does move to the bullpen I think he’s ready for the major league level.
With an above average fastball and slider, that’s the perfect combination to get hitters out as a reliever in baseball.
However, you hate to waste his starter frame at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds.
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The most likely path for Weigel in 2019 is to start the season at Gwinnett as a starter, and if things go well I think he will make his major league debut after the midway point of the season as a reliever where he will play a key role down the stretch.