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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Jonny Venters ‘injury’ and what that portends

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets during the game at SunTrust Park on April 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets during the game at SunTrust Park on April 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: Alex Jackson #12 of the Atlanta Braves heads back to the plate after talking with pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 during the second inning at SunTrust Park on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by John Amis/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: Alex Jackson #12 of the Atlanta Braves heads back to the plate after talking with pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 during the second inning at SunTrust Park on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by John Amis/Getty Images) /

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen some changes.  Some were expected.  Some… not so much:

  • April 4:  Bryse Wilson optioned out
  • April 5:  Shane Carle optioned out
  • April 13:  Kyle Wright optioned out
  • April 14:  Arodys Vizcaino placed on the IL (that one’s probably real)
  • April 14:  Sean Newcomb optioned out
  • April 15:  Jonny Venters placed on the IL

The Atlanta Braves are in a different place from where they were a year ago.  In April of 2018, they were still “just happy to be here” and “enjoying the ride” as they were leading the division.

A bit later on, things started to get ‘real’.  Then the division was won.  Now expectations have increased.  Division rivals have improved their own lineups.

At this point, it’s a whole new ballgame.

There’s a message being sent by manager Brian Snitker and it’s clearly being backed up by the Front Office:  this is a good team and you need to be performing well to keep your job.

All of the changes noted above are directly related to pitching.  There’s a rumble or two that changes might not be limited to the mound in days to come, but we’ll talk about that shortly.

As a team, the Braves are throwing to a 4.43 ERA (16th in MLB).  Worse, of course, is that 4.64 batters-per-9-innings walk rate, which continues to be a problem (29th in baseball).

So let’s look at the pitchers who have been sent down (or ‘set’ down):

  • Wilson:  10.80 walk rate; 10.80 ERA
  • Carle: 12.27; 12.27
  • Wright:  6.43; 7.07
  • Newcomb: 5.84; 4.38*
  • Venters:  16.88; 20.25
  • Vizcaino:  6.75; 2.25

* – Newcomb’s ERA is actually a bit miraculously low:  one start (the home opener) in which he gave up no runs was nonetheless a Houdini act:  10 base-runners in 4.0 innings (6 hits; 4 walks).  Repeated double plays bailed him out that day.

So these are the pitchers clearly struggling – and they are no longer on the active roster.  If nothing else, the Atlanta Braves understand two things this season:

  • Because of a much stronger NL East, their margin for error is very limited.  Every game is important.
  • Since every game is important, every player on the active roster needs to be an active contributor.

The team is acting accordingly.

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