Atlanta Braves hot and not update for May 3, 2019
By Fred Owens
How do you spell relief?
The bullpen still lacks a dependable closer. A.J. Minter looked to have a game in hand, then walked a backup catcher hitting .200 who had no chance of catching up to a Minter fastball. When the dust settled, the Braves were done.
Luke Walker and Josh Tomlin proved the only dependable arms last week, although Jacob Webb had one solid inning as did Charlie Culberson.
| Name | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP | FIP |
| Bryse Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.12 |
| Jerry Blevins | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.00 | 0.60 | 1.32 |
| Luke Jackson | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0.27 | 2.03 |
| Josh Tomlin | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2.25 | 1.00 | 2.37 |
| Grant Dayton | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 3.12 |
| Dan Winkler | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7.71 | 0.86 | 12.55 |
| Jacob Webb | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 4.12 |
| Charlie Culberson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 7.12 |
| A.J. Minter | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18.00 | 3.00 | 2.12 |
| Jesse Biddle | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Chad Sobotka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 4.12 |
| Shane Carle | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 45.00 | 6.00 | 12.12 |
Minter and Winkler have the stuff to close, and Webb may get there one day, but the name at the top of the list is my nominee to close.
Wilson has the mentality and the stuff to do it. As a starter he’s a four or five, he’ll have more success and make more money at the back of the bullpen.
Atlanta Braves offense
The Atlanta Braves lineup is deep and strong. While many disagree about its construction, the lineup averages five runs a game, sixth in the NL. The last week saw veterans start to heat up and a couple of younger Braves cool down.
| Hot last week | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Josh Donaldson | 15 | .222 | .533 | .667 | 1.200 |
| Ozzie Albies | 32 | .355 | .375 | .774 | 1.149 |
| Tyler Flowers | 17 | .313 | .353 | .688 | 1.040 |
| Nick Markakis | 29 | .346 | .414 | .500 | .914 |
| Ender Inciarte | 15 | .286 | .333 | .571 | .905 |
| Freddie Freeman | 30 | .240 | .367 | .520 | .887 |
| Not hot last week | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Dansby Swanson | 25 | .261 | .240 | .478 | .718 |
| Matt Joyce | 9 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Brian McCann | 12 | .222 | .417 | .222 | .639 |
| Johan Camargo | 28 | .222 | .250 | .296 | .546 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 26 | .167 | .231 | .208 | .439 |
Albies and Donaldson broke out their beating sticks and sent a few baseballs to the infirmary. Flowers can suddenly hit right-handed pitchers but forgot how to do the same to lefties.
Markakis is still hot, but the team’s much-vaunted plan is to rest him on a consistent basis, so there’s concern about how he can keep that up… but so far so good: a 9-game hitting streak was broken Friday night.
Freeman remains a constant in the lineup, and contrary to popular belief/opinion, Ender is scorching hot right now.
Ender began to heat up mid-April since then, Inciarte is slashing .304/.353/.435/.788, with a .338 wOBA. That coincides with his decision to hit the ball to left when possible. In that time he’s 14 for 46 with three doubles and a home run.