5 Atlanta Braves prospects who made big impressions in Spring Training
By Steven Teal
5. Kyle Wright
If the youth movement is truly going to launch into another gear this season – as rumor currently suggests – then it will start here.
Kyle Wright was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round of the 2017 draft. The Vanderbilt product is known for his lively fastball and sharp breaking ball. If you’re strictly looking at the stats, though, this Spring doesn’t appear to have been great for Wright… not on paper at least.
However, I was able to watch a couple of games that he started and listened to a few others. From what I saw and heard, the Atlanta Braves prospect has shown impressive control and command of the strike zone.
This Spring he carries a 7.11 ERA through 12 2/3 innings pitched. That would lead some to believe he isn’t ready for the big leagues. However, that is not the case as he has only had one rough start and that came against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.
#Braves prospect Kyle Wright gave up 4 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks and 2 home runs in 2/3rds of an inning today vs. Rays, after allowing just 11 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks and no homers in 12 innings over his previous 4 spring starts.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 21, 2019
The areas I think we should focus on are the strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed. In the 5 games pitched by the Atlanta Braves right hander, he has struck out 18 batters while only walking 4 of them.
These are the kinds of numbers most Braves fans love to see, especially since walks were something that plagued the Braves in 2018. Certainly this kind of K/BB ratio shows just how great Wright’s command is.
I believe you are going to see Kyle Wright on the Opening Day roster and there’s not a single reason he shouldn’t be.