What do the Atlanta Braves have in Huascar Ynoa?

Huascar Ynoa was thought by most to be a reliever long-term coming into the year but has been the best starter for the Braves early in 2021. Has he changed his long-term outlook?

I have been wanting to write about Huascar Ynoa for a few days now. I decided to wait until after he finished his night in front of the national audience on Sunday Night Baseball where the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

It allowed me to grab a little more data, which is always good when making these evaluation posts. It also allows Ynoa to get more exposure on a national level, even though he has already made a pretty nice name for himself thanks to this moment.

A no doubt grand slam to center field will definitely bring some national attention to oneself, especially when one does it as a pitcher.

While the grand slam was an amazing moment, I want to talk about his value as a pitcher long-term. There is some interesting data and statistics on the young right hander.

Coming into 2021, most people believed Ynoa was destined to be a reliever long-term. This was not a shot at Ynoa, as most figured he could thrive as a reliever.

Maybe he would be a valuable multi-inning reliever or as an opener. Roles we are seeing more and more of in today’s game.

However, he has been given a shot to start through a variety of reasons in 2021 and he has made the most of his opportunity. Ynoa has unquestionably been the “Ace” of the staff through the first month.

However, what is his ceiling going forward? What is his floor? What is he doing well? What are some areas of his game that we would like to see improvement?

That is what I am looking for here, what exactly can Ynoa be. I would love to hear what everyone thinks as well, whether the people agree or disagree with me.

I want to look at what worries me, what I like long-term, and then make an overall evaluation and prediction for Ynoa based on where he is right now.