How new extra-innings rule benefits the Atlanta Braves
By Seth Carter
Atlanta Braves – Chris Martin
Chris Martin hit two new gears last season. The first gear came in the first half with Texas when he lowered his BB/9 rate from 1.7 for his career to 0.9. He also jacked his strikeouts per nine up from a career 8.0 to 10.2 with the Rangers.
Upon arriving in Atlanta, the numbers remained bullish as his walks per nine with the Braves dropped to nearly non-existent 0.5! The Ks kept-a-coming’ as he struck out 11.2 per nine as a Brave.
If Martin maintains this sort of production and continues with his ascending strikeout numbers, he could be a viable option to close the door in extra innings for the Braves this season.
Atlanta Braves – Will Smith
Will Smith has a career K/9 rate of 10.8 over seven seasons. Last season he reached an all-time high of 13.2 Ks per nine frames, earning 34 saves and his first all-star appearance. The Braves have previously discussed leaving Melancon in the traditional closer’s role, but Will Smith could still be the best pitcher out of the pen.
If Snitker decides to deploy him in the most crucial of situations, then I think everyone would feel pretty comfortable in the 10th inning knowing Will Smith is coming out shut down the side. In 2019, Smith struck out two or more batters in 57% of his appearances.
It’s hard to imagine Will Smith not being the official closer this season, but he may be better utilized as a floater like Josh Hader or Andrew Miller in years past. There will certainly be instances where Smith will be used to close out games, there will probably be instances in which Smith faces a crucial part of the lineup in the eighth and then the save gets blown in the ninth rendering his services unavailable in extras.
However, on the occasions that the Braves rally in the ninth to tie the game and Smith has not yet been used, he’s the guy.