3 Atlanta Braves players that disappointed us in 2019
With the Atlanta Braves season coming to a painful close, many fans turn to the what-ifs to figure out how and why it all went wrong.
While only one of the following players really had an impact in the playoffs, it’s worth noting for the ‘what-ifs’ that if these players had better seasons for the Atlanta Braves, who knows what could have really happened.
If you’re the glass half empty kind of fan, you’ll enjoy this.
Tyler Flowers
One of the Atlanta Braves fans’ favorite whipping boys actually did have a disappointing season. Now was it as bad as some people believe? No. Does he still make this list? Yes.
Tyler Flower’s offensive numbers are in line with those from last season, but they aren’t in line with those from his first two seasons, which is what I think Atlanta Braves fans don’t realize. This season was nearly a clone of 2018, and in some ways, better.
In 2016 and 2017, Flowers hit .270 and .281 with 20 home runs. In 2018 and 2019, he hit .227 and .229 with 19 home runs. His production of 90 RBI in 2016/2017 dropped to 64 RBI in 2018/2019.
Flowers just hasn’t hit at the same rate as he did the two first years the Atlanta Braves had him. A lower batting average certainly contributes to less production.
And for the past two seasons, he was certainly playing in a better overall offense.
Defensively, 2019 was a tough season for Flowers as well. According to baseball prospectus, He ranked 4th and 3rd respectively in 2017 and 2018 in pitching framing. In 2019, he dropped down to 9th.
He was the 6th worst catcher in terms of blocking runs. He allowed 16 pass balls in just 83 games, which led the major leagues despite Flowers being a part-time catcher.
Now, Flowers, along with Kurt Suzuki and Brian McCann have given the Atlanta Braves good reason not to go out and spend a bunch of money on a free agent catcher the past three seasons.
2017/2018: .257/20/79 (Flowers) .276/31/100 (Suzuki)
2019: .229/11/34 (Flowers) .249/12/45 (McCann)
So, in 2017 and 2018, Atlanta Braves catchers averaged about a .265 batting average with 25 home runs and 90 RBI.
While that production was down in 2019, it was still quite serviceable at about .238 with 23 home runs and 78 RBI.
Now, the offseason predicament is this: Do we pick up Tyler Flowers’ option and try to pair him with another catcher that will be part-time? Or, do we decline Tyler Flowers’ option and go after a catcher that will play close to every day, like a Yasmani Grandal should the Milwaukee Brewers let him become available?
Time will tell on that one, but T-Flo could definitely provide the Atlanta Braves a boost in 2020 if he returns to his prior form.
A.J. Minter/Chad Sobotka
I am not saying that both A.J. Minter and Chad Sobotka’s careers are shot or that they are doomed to be designated for assignment or released, or that they’ll spend the rest of their lives in the bus league.
Actually, I think the long term prospects for both could actually be quite the opposite.
However, after showing flashes of brilliance in 2018, both pitchers seemingly fell flat on their faces in 2019.
Two young arms that showed great potential just didn’t do much of anything in their sophomore seasons. Sure, there were flashes, but the numbers speak for themselves.
A.J. Minter: 36G, 3-4 record, 7.06 ERA, 5 SV, 29.1 IP, 36H, 23BB, 35K.
Chad Sobotka: 32G, 0-0 record, 6.23 ERA, 0 SV, 29 IP, 28H, 19BB, 38K.
Going into advanced stats, Minter’s FIP of 4.61 suggests he may have been a bit unlucky, but it doesn’t dismiss him from being bad.
Sobotka’s FIP is sitting at 5.56, which means he essentially got what he deserved based off how he pitched in terms of being beaten up by opposing offenses.
Here, you have to think about the what-ifs.
If one of these guys stepped up and made the leap towards bullpen ace, maybe we wouldn’t have had to spend the $14 million to get Mark Melancon at the trade deadline.
Maybe we don’t trade Kolby Allard to the Texas Rangers to get Chris Martin, or maybe we don’t go out and trade Joey Wentz for Shane Greene.
While I have to admit that we needed a reliever, maybe two, even if these guys performed. In my mind, there’s little doubt that one of them performing would have saved a move or two.
Both failed for different reasons in 2019.
For Sobotka, his lack of command allowed him to be more hittable, missing in bad spots. He had his share of walks, for sure.
As for Minter, he allowed so many base runners, that when a hitter did make him pay for a mistake, it typically wasn’t a solo home run.
In the same number of innings, Minter allowed 12 more base runners via hits and walks than Sobotka.
Dallas Keuchel
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And to think that I LOVED this move when it happened. I was glad that we didn’t go after Craig Kimbrel. I just knew we had made the right choice. As it turns out, neither was really ‘the right choice.’
Now I’m not saying Dallas Keuchel needed to go 2008 Milwaukee Brewers C.C. Sabathia on the rest of the National League, but he just didn’t produce at a level that deserved the $13 million, the signing, or the hype that came along with it.
Now it’s a fair question to ask – who would have started instead of Keuchel? Kevin Gausman? Another one of the prospects like Kyle Wright or Bryse Wilson that never really got traction? A different move?
I’m not sure, but this is about Dallas Keuchel not performing as he could have.
Keuchel was a victim of not getting much run support at times, but his 3.75 ERA was one of the higher marks in his career.
It seemed like when he got hit, he got hit hard, including getting rocked by the Miami Marlins to the tune of 8 runs.
Generally, his stats compared favorably to Julio Teheran. Keuchel was on pace to have around a 4.00 ERA, walk 70-75 batters and to give up 25-30 home runs.
Dallas’ worst season for the home run ball was 2016, where he gave up 20 of them over 26 starts.
In other seasons, like 2018, he gave up 18 over a full season, and in 2015, he gave up 17.
Simply put, he gave up about twice as many home runs with the Atlanta Braves (19 over 21 starts) as he typically did with the Houston Astros. Of course, you can cut him a little slack with the way the baseballs were flying this year, but still, 25-30 home runs allowed would have ranked him near the bottom in all of baseball.
In the postseason, Keuchel survived a mechanically shaky game one start. Over 4.2 innings, he walked three batters and was lucky to give up the one run. In game four, he gave up three home runs over just 3.1 innings pitched.
All told, it ended up being pretty bad.
Next. Let's look on the brighter side with surprises!. dark
These players certainly didn’t turn in the type of years they expected to or wanted to, but Keuchel was on a one-year deal, Flowers has a team option for 2019, and Minter and Sobotka are under team control on the cheap. We’ll see who survives into 2020.