Atlanta Braves: Bryse Wilson seeks to solidify a spot in 2020
Context necessary for 2019
Last season’s major-league numbers for Bryse Wilson – at face value – leave something to be desired.
- 20 IP
- 4 GS
- 7.20 ERA
- 4.5 BB/9
- -0.2 fWAR
However, it’s important to look deeper into those numbers.
All his prior success in mind, it’s fair to say that Bryse Wilson was given a bad break to begin the 2019 season.
He found himself thrust into the starting rotation – probably before he was quite ready – in the opening series thanks to injuries within the pitching staff.
He struggled mightily versus Philadelphia that day, and didn’t get another real crack as a starter in the big leagues until late June, where he saw one good start sprinkled in between two bad ones.
Positive trends
We’ve addressed the negatives – but what positives do we have to take away from Wilson’s 2019?
For starters, Wilson saw his walk rate diminish significantly in his 21 starts at Triple-A Gwinnett.
From 2016-2018, the right-hander had an average BB/9 of 2.44. In 2019’s time with the Stripers, Wilson trimmed that number to 1.93 BB/9 – or half a walk less per nine innings.
Also, according to Rotowire, Wilson’s average fastball velocity of 94.7 MPH ranks in the 85th percentile among all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons.
The .342 BABIP against him also would definitely indicate that Wilson suffered from some poor pitcher’s luck in ’19, and that could very well swing in the other direction in the future.
He’s still that power pitcher with high-strikeout capability that he was when he was praised by manager Brian Snitker after his Major League debut in 2018:
"“That’s his makeup,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s an aggressive kid that’s going to be on the attack.”"