Report card time: 2019 pitching grades for Atlanta Braves

Bullpen

GRADE: C

An absolutely horrendous July almost put a permanent stain on the Atlanta Braves bullpen in 2019, as the group’s numbers didn’t quite reach last year’s production.

During that horrible month, Braves’ relievers posted a 5.76 ERA and walked over five batters per nine, and it looked as if the bullpen was destined to become the death of the Braves’ season.

Fortunately, GM Alex Anthopoulos made some additions, bringing in three experienced arms in Chris Martin, Shane Greene and Mark Melancon. It took a minute… but the Braves’ bullpen finally got back on track, though the only substantial improvement, relative to 2018, was a much better walk-rate (4.41 BB/9 last season).

BRAVES’ BULLPEN RANKS

To prevent this exercise from turning into even more of a novel, I’m limiting the following excerpts to only Braves’ relievers that appeared in 20 or more games. Also, I’m breaking these grades up in to two slides, so the rest of the relievers are graded on slide 5.

RHP / Luke Jackson: GRADE: A

70 appearances, 72.2 innings, 9-2, 18 saves, 3.84 ERA, 13.13 K/9, 3.22 BB/9, 1.2 WAR

The Braves’ leader in relief appearances, by a lot (by 19 games), Jackson finally put it all together in 2019 and even held the closer’s job for awhile.

The numbers speak for themselves. Jackson posted more WAR in 2019 than in all of his previous seasons combined, thanks to the lowest walk-rate of his career and the most strikeouts. For once, perhaps we’ll head into the winter feeling good about Luke Jackson in the Atlanta Braves bullpen.

LHP / Sean Newcomb: GRADE: B+

51 appearances, 53.1 innings, 6-3, 1 save, 3.04 ERA, 9.62 K/9, 3.21 BB/9, 0.1 WAR

He may have failed as a starter this season, but Newcomb was super useful pitching out of the ‘pen. Remember he only made 4 starts in 2019, but consider the improvements once a one-inning worker:

• Starter: 11.4 K%, 14.3 BB%, .300 BAA
• Reliever: 25.6 K%, 8.5 BB%, .214 BAA

Will the Braves try Newcomb out as a starter in February?

RHP / Josh Tomlin: GRADE: A

51 appearances, 79.1 innings, 2-1, 2 saves, 3.74 ERA, 5.79 K/9, 0.79 BB/9, 0.2 WAR

I will accept your chuckles… Tomlin gets an A from me. He may not strike many guys out or throw very hard, but one thing this 34-year-old veteran did extremely well in 2019 was throw strikes — the most underrated characteristic of a pitcher. Of the 320 total batters that faced Tomlin this season… seven drew a walk (!).

LHP / Jerry Blevins: GRADE: B+

45 appearances, 32.1 innings, 1-0, 1 save, 3.90 ERA, 10.30 K/9, 4.45 BB/9, 0.0 WAR

In his 13th major league season, Blevins provided the Braves with some left-handed reinforcements at the end of April.

The 36-year-old did his job, holding the 69 lefty hitters he faced to a .180/.261/.279 batting line and just four XBHs. For $1.2 million against the luxury tax… you can’t ask for much more than that.

RHP / Anthony Swarzak: GRADE: C-

59 appearances, 53.1 innings, 3-4, 4 saves, 4.56 ERA, 8.78 K/9, 4.56 BB/9, -0.1 WAR

Swarzak started strong, posting a 2.61 ERA in the 1st half, but he struggled to the tune of a 7.25 mark in the 2nd half. Also, road appearances weren’t kind to Swarzak, as his ERA jumped from 2.78 to 5.87 when pitching away from SunTrust Park.

RHP / Jacob Webb: GRADE: A

36 appearances, 32.1 innings, 4-0, 2 saves, 1.39 ERA, 7.79 K/9, 3.34 BB/9, 0.2 WAR

The 26-year-old Webb deserves some credit, pitching to a sub-2.00 ERA in his first taste of the big leagues, after struggling in Gwinnett in 2018.

Webb looks like a great pitcher, with three above average offerings, including a high-90s fastball. I want to see more in 2020.