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Atlanta Braves: the case for and against Madison Bumgarner

By Seth Carter

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 13: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants riding a police horse carries the 2014 World Series Championship Flag prior to the start of their game against the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at AT&T Park on April 13, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jeff Chiu-Pool/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 13: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants riding a police horse carries the 2014 World Series Championship Flag prior to the start of their game against the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at AT&T Park on April 13, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jeff Chiu-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 09: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oracle Park on September 9, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images) /

The case for Bumgarner


VETERAN PRESENCE

Bumgarner will bring a much-needed veteran presence to a rotation full of youth. The average age of the remaining rotation candidates on the Braves roster is under 23.75 years old.

CONSISTENCY

Last season Bumgarner tied for 11th in the MLB in quality starts. His 20 quality starts placed him ahead of players like Charlie Morton and Mike Soroka. Bumgarner was still an ace at home with a 2.93 ERA and a .93 WHIP.

Bumgarner has never had an ERA over 3.90 in a single season. Yes, while last year was technically his worst season in terms of ERA, it is still incredible that it was the high mark of high mark of his 11-year career.

Oh, and he can hit enough to be an extra big bench bat… but that’s just a bonus.


POSTSEASON LEGEND

Perhaps the primary reason analysts consistently picked the Nationals over the Braves in 2019 projections was starting pitching. Sure, we got angry and thought we could be the little engine that could, but the Braves’ rotational deficiency was highlighted during the postseason.

Bumgarner has logged over 100 innings in the postseason and holds a career ERA of 2.11.  In 2014, he pitched in seven postseason games and gave up zero runs in four of the outings.

After earning two victories in the World Series he came back in-game seven to earn a five-inning shutout save on two-days rest. The Braves really could have used an experienced ace in the Game 5 meltdown in which Mike Foltynewicz and Max Fried combined for 2 IP and 10 earned runs.

METRICS TRENDING UP

Despite the narrative that things are looking down for the southpaw, there a quite a few metrics that show what a value the former World Series MVP could end up being. In 2019, he had his lowest FIP in the past three season. His K/9 was also the highest it had been in that same span.

Last season he was able to shake off the injuries that plagued him between 2017-2018 and pitch 207.2 innings. He still showed tremendous control last season with a minuscule 1.13 WHIP and  and only 43 walks.

Following rumors of diminished velocity over the previous two seasons, he was able to bring his fastball back to life in 2019 with an average velocity of 92mph.

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