Braves players who will be critical in the second half of 2021

Huascar Ynoa

The biggest surprise player of the season (for myself at least), Huascar Ynoa made his mark in the Braves rotation before his injury in May.

On the year, Ynoa was 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in eight starts while striking out 50 batters in 44.2 innings pitched, a 10.1 K/9 rate.

Oh yeah, he also was pretty good with the bat, hitting .353 with two homers and 6 RBI, the big highlight being a grand slam against the Washington Nationals.

Unfortunately, Ynoa went down with a broken hand in May after punching the dugout after a start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been on the injured list since, but will begin throwing soon, per David O’Brien:

We should probably expect Ynoa to return sometime in August, and the Braves will desperately need him. Nearly every starter for the Braves has dealt with some kind of injury this year, so getting a fresh arm back will be huge for the team going forward.

If Ynoa can pitch (and hit) like he did back in April and May, he would cause a lot of problems for opposing hitters and pitchers down the stretch and give the Braves a chance to win critical games that could insert them into the postseason.