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Atlanta Braves: 3 players that surprised us in 2019

By Josh Mathews

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 16: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves throws a second inning pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at SunTrust Park on August 16, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 16: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves throws a second inning pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at SunTrust Park on August 16, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 06: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers the pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in game three of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 06, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 06: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers the pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in game three of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 06, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Mike Soroka

More from Tomahawk Take

Did anyone really know for sure that Mike Soroka was going to be in the Cy Young discussion? Or according to the ‘professionals,’ just outside of it?

A prospect is just that – a prospect. In this case, an arm with potential, but until they prove themselves with results, they’re just a ‘Four-A’ guy. Or worse, they’ll eventually become ‘organizational depth.’

Mike Soroka did contend for the Cy Young in 2019, and so much more.

He was the ace of a young and still budding Atlanta Braves staff. He rose above them all – Max Fried, Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and even 13-million dollar man Dallas Keuchel as the best pitcher the team had to offer.

Soroka racked up 13 wins against 4 losses, registered a 2.68 earned run average, struck out 142 batters in over a healthy 174.2 innings and was worth a whopping 5.6 WAR.

Oh, and he was the All-Star team in his rookie season.

Soroka delivered a gem in the postseason, too. In game three of the NLCS he allowed just two hits and one run over seven innings, striking out seven.

It’s worth noting that Marcell Ozuna’s double, a 69.2 mph rocket off the bat, was the run that was eventually plated via a sacrifice fly.

Now, at age 22, Soroka will look to anchor a rotation for years to come, and perhaps, he’ll be the Atlanta Braves next version of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, or John Smoltz.

It’s easy to forget that Soroka was sidelined with the vague injury of ‘shoulder fatigue’ in June of 2018, and again was shut down in Spring Training briefly with shoulder tendonitis. Yet, he produced the season that he did.

Next. Was Josh Donaldson the Braves MVP in 2019?. dark

Despite an ugly ending to the 2019 season, there’s reason to perk up — the future is still incredibly bright, and hopefully includes all three of these players in 2020.

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