Braves prospects: Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson both have work to do
Wright and Wilson, two young and promising pitchers who struggled this past season for the Atlanta Braves, could really use an excellent Spring to start a critical 2020 campaign.
The Atlanta Braves have entered this new year much like they have in recent ones, still greatly benefiting from a deep farm system and strong major-league core.
Earlier this week, and the week before, we delved into the former here, as I graded the organization’s most recent draft class as well as ranked the top-30 prospects currently within the system — a couple of series that yet again illustrated just how rich and prosperous this Braves’ franchise truly is.
But over the next couple of weeks — with the team’s prospect rankings still fresh on everyone’s minds — I want to take a closer look at several of these ranked Braves’ prospects, especially ones that currently find themselves in interesting situations going into the 2020 season, both good situations… and of course bad ones.
Back to Wright and Wilson…
It’s interesting how hype works with prospects, especially ones who are pitchers. In 2018, Bryse Wilson made that gutsy MLB debut versus the Pirates in late August, punching out five and picking up the win after five shutout innings; a start you can look back at, here.
There were flashes of a sure-fire star during that start, as we were hoping next year would be the year he became part of the Atlanta Braves rotation.
Then there was Kyle Wright just a couple weeks later that season, the righty that seemed to have even better stuff, not to mention more upside. Wright’s debut was certainly less exciting — a two-inning relief appearance versus the Red Sox — yet still an instant success (he didn’t allow a hit).
Of course, it wasn’t ALL magical: Wilson wound up struggling in a few relief appearances at the tail end of the season, and Wright followed suit, as both pitchers ended their cups of coffee with too many walks, hits and runs allowed, though, granted, it was a very small body of work.
However, the tone had been set. Here were two highly ranked pitching prospects coming off big seasons in the upper minors, and even more… they had found some success in the big leagues; that automatically meant they were both destined to perform even better in 2019, right?
Wrong.
A 2019 season to forget
If you remember, Wright made the Opening Day rotation and earned a start in the third game of the season, a wet and chilly night in Philadelphia in which he walked five batters and was out after just 4.1 innings of work.
He only survived two more starts before a demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett (he later made three relief appearances in September, pitching rather well).
Wilson got the Game 2 start against the Phillies, though he was no better than Wright, lasting only 3.1 innings after allowing four runs, four walks, and a homer.
He made a strong 9th-inning appearance in late-April versus the Rockies, before being bounced back-and-forth throughout June and July — he made three starts (14.1 IP) and allowed 10 runs in that span — before getting one last big league appearance in early September, an outing in which he allowed two runs before getting four outs.
Altogether, the two righties certainly didn’t perform quite as expected, as both wound up with some gaudy ERAs at the major league level in 2019:
- Wright: 7 games, 8.69 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 5.9 BB/9
- Wilson: 6 games, 7.20 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 4.5 BB/9
Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game with pitching prospects. They very rarely get it right when you’re expecting them to, hence the need for so many.
What was even more concerning, though, was the fact that neither was very consistent in the minors.
The new baseball in Triple-A, along with some early-season mechanical issues perhaps played a hand in some of it. But Wright had a horrible start in Gwinnett in 2019, allowing 14 runs in his first 10.2 innings pitched (3 starts) and never striking out more than six batters until his 10th start.
The issues with Wilson were perhaps more expected. I wrote about his struggles earlier in the 2019 season (granted, after just three starts), but it appeared “The Bulldog” was bringing too much Bulldog to the mound this past season, perhaps attacking the zone too much.
Wilson’s minor league performance fell right in line with his usual play: a solid amount of strikeouts and hardly any walks. But at the major league level, Wilson seemed to lean on his fastball too much, almost shying away from any of his secondary offerings at the first sight of trouble.
Things certainly weren’t going either pitcher’s way and it’s fair to say both guys took an unfortunate step back; but we already knew that, right?
Wait-and-see mode
Despite such frustrating results in 2019, we still have both Wright and Wilson right near the top of our Braves’ prospect rankings, with the former ranked No. 5 and the latter No. 6.
That’s another thing about pitching prospects, you never want to give up on them too early. Although, there is the real possibility that both guys have unfortunately started their descent from a once-impressive peak.
This is why Spring Training will be so crucial for them, as the Braves’ major league rotation still has one last slot open, a job opening that Wright and Wilson are undoubtedly determined to land.
They both know how they left the 2019 season (both in terms of performance and perception) and I’m sure are plenty aware of how, for some people, their prospect stock has fallen.
When looking at both Wright and Wilson’s possible future paths, it’s admittedly difficult to reach a happy ending, or at least one that is consistent with previous expectations.
For one, former starter-turned-shutdown-reliever Sean Newcomb appears to be the favorite to win the Braves’ No. 5 spot amongst the team’s starting rotation, at least according to the general public.
Newcomb has the upper hand when considering his experience as a (at one time) dependable starter, plus there’s a solid case to be made that if Newk does indeed impress during exhibition games this Spring, he’s the most deserving candidate for that final spot.
So what does that mean for these two former highly sought-after prospect pitchers?
A few interesting proposals
Concerning Wright, how much do you think big league teams around the league value him? As a former first-round pick (No. 5 overall) in 2017, coming out of the prestigious program of Vanderbilt, and the fact that he was so solid just two seasons ago, you would think the general assumption is… a lot.
Now, think about those teams desperately in need of pitching: the Angels, Pirates, Mariners, Rockies, Giants, and Orioles … and several more (by the way, save for the Pirates, all of those teams listed above finished within the bottom-five last season in pitching WAR, according to FanGraphs).
Of those six pitch-needy teams, there are numerous players the Braves could use in other areas of its major league roster; notable and more household ones including guys like: Starling Marte (PIT), Nolan Arenado (COL), and Kyle Seager (SEA)… yeah that’s right, three of the more popular players that have been circulating around the water cooler as guys the Braves could be interested in.
Maybe it’s time to cash in on some draft hype (not that that’s all he has currently) and trade Wright in exchange for a bat.
Then there’s Wilson, who at one point was my favorite Braves’ starting pitching prospect and a guy I thought would be a mainstay in the big league rotation by now. I haven’t lost hope yet, but there is a rather attractive alternative out there.
In our most recent podcast episode (set to air soon), Fred, Alan, Jake and I wrapped things up by bantering a bit about both Wright and Wilson; and Fred brought up an excellent point, opining that Wilson seemed like a great fit for the bullpen, considering his fastball is currently so far and ahead his secondary offerings and the fact that attacking the zone would be more attainable for a guy coming in expected to only work a few innings.
I 100% agree, as Bryse Wilson the reliever would be able to both let his fastball fly AND go straight at hitters without the added result of being expected to get 15 or 18 outs.
Wilson could perhaps relax a bit more and focus less on perfecting multiple pitches, while also prioritizing fastball command, velocity, and movement — three things a late-inning (or even low-leverage) reliever needs to be able to consistently feature.
Also, moving Wilson to the bullpen really doesn’t impact the Braves’ starting-pitching prospect depth, not with Ian Anderson, Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller, and even Patrick Weigel right on the cusp of getting their turn.
Altogether, better pitching by Wright and Wilson not only gives the Braves more options in-house but could also help the team as they continue to finish the last-minute details of its 2020 roster.
Next. Updated payroll after arbitration signings. dark
Unfortunately for some pitchers this year, Spring Training isn’t just about loosening up and getting back in shape, but a way to hopefully help rebuild some much-needed stock. We’ll see if both Wright and Wilson can achieve that, starting late next month.