Meeting the new fresh prince of the Atlanta Braves: Will Smith
By James Kunkle
What are we getting
First off, I admittedly did not realize how big of a boy Will Smith is. He is currently listed at 6-foot-5 and stands at 248 pounds. That’s important for when we have that game when the bullpen has to run out onto the field.
What the Atlanta Braves are getting though is a quality left-hander who one should not have to worry about closing the opponent out. He’s been good for many years now and is still only 30 years of age. There should still be plenty in the tank.
A couple of things stand out to me when reviewing his career numbers, though. First off, he simply does not walk many batters and we know how tough that has been the last few seasons for the Atlanta Braves relief options.
In his career, he has thrown 410.2 innings and has only allowed 149 free passes. Consider that with his good career strikeout numbers. Obviously at the same number of innings pitched, he has struck out 494 hitters.
In his great 2019 season, he did struggle at one thing, and that is allowing the long ball. Then again, what pitcher did not struggle with that last season?
Pitching 65.1 innings in 2019, he allowed 10 home runs.
I’m not too worried about that though because again, what pitcher didnt, and that was the first time he had allowed more than six since his rookie season with the Kansas City Royals.
The bottom line is, the Atlanta Braves will have a quality end of the game option.