3 Atlanta Braves relievers that need to step up
By Josh Mathews
A.J. Minter
Since his recall from AAA Gwinnett, A.J. Minter has shown signs of improvement and flashes of the past, as he’s pitched to a 3.65 ERA and 1.29 WHIP since June 11. He’s given up runs in just 4 of 14 appearances and hasn’t allowed a home run.
A ferocious cutter and a Kimbrel-like set position helped Minter to captivate fans in 2018 when he was the team’s closer until a tweaked back seemed to throw his mechanics off a bit. Arodys Vizcaino returned from a two month disabled list stint and eventually took the closer job back.
Minter converted on 15 of 17 save opportunities and struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings. His season ending ERA was 3.23 and his WHIP was 1.28, numbers very similar to his post-demotion stats in 2019.
At his best, Minter has filthy stuff. A fastball that can touch 100mph and a nasty cutter made him and still makes him an excellent closer-of-future candidate. That likely won’t happen this year, but if Minter can get closer to the form that we’ve seen for month long stretches, things will be even better.
In a 2018 run from March 30-May 1 he posted a 1.98 ERA. Later that year, he posted a 0.75 ERA from July 15 to August 14. The potential is there, it appears to be returning, but the execution of such would be paramount.
Chad Sobotka
Never a highly ranked prospect, Chad Sobotka came up in August of last year and provided some much-needed stability to the bullpen down the stretch. In 14 appearances, he registered a 1.88 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and struck out 21 batters over 14.1 innings.
Like Minter, Sobotka also has ridiculous stuff, including a high octane fastball sitting at 97mph. That’s complimented by a slider that functions almost like a curveball, but at 85mph.
At 6′-8″, Sobotka is able to throw downhill, and the results, when he’s been on, have been devastating.
An abdominal strain sidelined Sobotka after a disastrous start to 2019, where he allowed 11 earned runs over 11 appearances after pitching two shutout innings in the opening series against the Phillies.
Since his rehab and return from Gwinnett, Sobotka has notched a 2.08 ERA, while struggling with his command at times.
All and all, this is right about where Chad was down the stretch in 2018. If he can keep this up, he’ll once again be essential for the Atlanta Braves in the postseason.