Atlanta Braves one of many teams in a postseason arms race
By Fred Owens
The Atlanta Braves will want a good return for the player-price paid in any trade.
The best values in trades will come from pitchers in walk years who aren’t going to earn a qualifying offer like Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker, and Mike Minor. However, all of those arms have their own issues.
More from Tomahawk Take
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Prospect Review: Joey Terdoslavich
- Braves News: Braves sign Fuentes, Andruw’s HOF candidacy, more
- The Weakest Braves Homers Since 2015
- Atlanta Braves Sign Joshua Fuentes to Minor League Deal
- Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves
Ray misses bats better than most pitchers. From 2017 through 2019, only Chris Sale and Max Scherzer had better K/9 rates than Ray’s 12.09, he struck out 31.9% of batters, shared a 13.% WHIFF rate with Corey Kluber and Jack Flaherty, and posted a respectable 30.4% chase rate.
However, his 4.40 walk rate was the worst among qualified starters, and his 1.41 HR/9 ranked 88th of 115 qualified starters.
Mike Minor’s velocity dropped ever year since 2017; so far this season, he’s averaging 91 MPH. Like many pitches, he’s had a rough start to 2020, posting a 5.49 ERA, 3.64 FIP, in 19 2/3 IP.
Beat writers are watching his velocity after early struggles, but he stayed at 91 over four innings in Tuesday’s game.
Mike MInor gets through three innings on 67 pitches. Highly doubt he sees the fourth. But he has kept fastball at 91-92. No major drop.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) August 12, 2020
Rangers pull Mike Minor after four scoreless and 76 pitches.... The Rangers said Minor would be on a short pitch count tonight.... still had four good innings.
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) August 12, 2020
Taijuan Walker missed most of the last two seasons after elbow surgery, and like Minor, throws about five innings a start.
His fastball and sinker are nearly back to pre-surgery velocity, but the Mariners are leaning harder on his secondary pitches, which might factor into his elevated 5.79 ERA.
Walker’s not a household name, but he is a talented pitcher who looks back to his old self and has the stuff to settle nicely into the Braves rotation.