7. Kyle Wright
21-5, 3.19 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 180.1 IP, 174 SO
Over parts of his first four seasons, Kyle Wright put up an inauspicious 6.56 ERA over his first 70 innings pitched. He walked an atrocious 6.2 per nine innings. His WHIP was 1.69. It was not a good start for the former first-rounder.
Kyle Wright got off to a blistering start this year. He allowed just three earned runs in his first four starts, winning all of them. In 24 innings he struck out 34 and walked just six. Fantasy managers were scrambling to add him to their rosters while hoping it wasn’t a fluky start.
Among qualified starters, Wright has the second-highest groundball rate in the National League at 55.6%.
Wright came into the 2022 season with a 2-8 career W-L record. Not many people would have picked Kyle Wright to step in and be the lone 20-game winner of the 2022 season. Yet, here he is. Wright is currently atop the league in wins (leading by 4!!) with a few games left to play.
Last night Wright notched his 21st win in perhaps the biggest win of the season as the Braves beat Max Scherzer to take over first place in the division.
6. Travis d’Arnaud
.268 avg, 18 HR, 60 R, 58 RBI, 0 SB, 119 OPS+
Travis d’Arnaud has been such a reliable player since the Rays traded $100k in cash for him prior to the 2019 season. Not only has his bat been a huge weapon for the Braves with a 120 OPS+ but he has grown by leaps and bounds defensively.
d’Arnaud’s two best seasons in defensive runs saved (Rdrs) at Baseball-Reference.com have come in 2021 and 2022. According to Fangraphs “Def” rating, d’Arnaud is second among catchers in the National League with 15.8.
Over at Baseball Savant, d’Arnaud ranks in the 74th percentile in framing. He leads all NL catchers with a .998% fielding percentage. TDA is third in the league with 14 runners caught stealing.
Travis d’Arnaud has been the total package for the Braves this season. You couldn’t ask for a better bat out of a highly proficient defensive catcher. He continues to improve as he ages.