Will Smith
To be honest, I could put every player in the entire bullpen on this list. The Braves would be in much better shape in terms of their record and division standings with better performances from their ‘pen.
I chose to go with Will Smith since he is the closer of the group. His tenure with the Braves has been…complicated.
On paper, his 2021 numbers don’t look terrible: 3.68 ERA, 18 saves, a121 ERA+, and 47 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. He also has a pretty nasty slider that has generated a .138 batting average from hitters and contributed to 31 of his 47 punchouts (via Baseball Savant).
However, this doesn’t stop Braves country from holding their collective breath when he comes out to pitch the 9th inning.
Smith gave up a critical three-run homer to his fellow Will Smith of the LA Dodgers in game 5 of the NLCS last year (a turning point in that series). This year, he allowed Luke Williams of the Philadelphia Phillies to hit his first home run (a walk-off at that) back in June that denied the Braves a chance to get over .500 for the first time all year.
The Braves need Will Smith to be the guy who warranted GM (and fan favorite) Alex Anthopoulos to give him a three-year $40 million deal back in 2019 and dominate for the final three outs of a game. Otherwise, it will continue to be a rollercoaster of emotions when his name is announced as pitching for the Atlanta Braves.
With only a 44-45 record and being just 4 games behind the NY Mets for first in the NL East, the Braves have a chance to rewrite their 2021 season with help from the players listed and the entire organization as a whole. If they can’t get it going, this will go down as one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of the Braves organization.