The Atlanta Braves bullpen has been the undoubted weakness of the 2019 club, but surprisingly, Luke Jackson has been a stabilizing force for a unit that has desperately needed one.
On Opening Day when the Atlanta Braves faced the Phillies, Luke Jackson surrendered 4 earned runs in one inning.
His ERA after that appearance was 36.00.
Since then, Jackson has pitched 10.1 innings and allowed no earned runs.
Yes, you read that correctly — no earned runs.
Jackson, who was the butt of most of our bullpen jokes in 2018 (Sam Freeman, notwithstanding), has become the Atlanta Braves most reliable reliever early in the 2019 season.
MLB Trade Rumors recently listed Jackson as one of the 10 breakout relievers during the early portion of the season.
In 2018, Jackson had an ERA of 4.43 and a WHIP of 1.525. He struck out 46 in 40.2 innings, but also walked 21 batters.
But for 2019, his control has been much better, as he has walked only four batters. The strikeouts are up, too, as he has struck out 15 batters since the Opening Day disaster in Philadelphia.
The put-away pitch, you ask?
It has been Jackson’s slider, which he is using at a much greater clip (52.2 percent so far, according to mlbtraderumors.com).
Jackson has also kept the ball in the ballpark. Of the 28 outs Jackson has recorded that are not strikeouts, 21 of those have been on the ground, again according to mbtraderumors.com.
While his emergence has been welcomed, considering others like Jesse Biddle and Chad Sobotka have struggled and Darren O’Day and Arodys Vizcaino have been lost to injury, the question is how long it can last?
Jackson had some success in 2017 with the Braves as he was one of the club’s best relievers for the majority of the season.
From April 17th to August 11th, Jackson pitched 38.2 innings and carried an ERA of 3.47. He struck out 27 and walked 12.
Other than that, though, Jackson has struggled in his five-plus seasons in the Major Leagues.
If Jackson can continue to locate his fastball, while using the slider as his out pitch, then it is reasonable to think the success can continue.
It seems like the Braves won’t entertain the thought of sigining Craig Kimbrel until after the draft, so they don’t lose a draft pick.
Also, teams like the San Francisco Giants, who have made it known they are willing to trade some of their effective relievers, will most likely be asking an astronomical price on their bullpen pieces because of how early in the season it is.
That leaves Jackson, along with Daniel Winkler and Josh Tomlin, as middle relief options for the Atlanta Braves in the immediate future.
Everybody think good thoughts, okay?