In sports, you will often hear the phrase it's a copy cat league. Teams and players look at the success from their competition and often look to apply those methods to their own game. For newest Atlanta Braves reliever Tyler Kinley, copying one of his bullpen mates might just be what turns his career around.
Tyler Kinley was traded to Atlanta from the Rockies as an arm to eat innings over the final couple months. Additionally, Kinley was acquired in hopes the Braves can unlock something in his pitch mix that makes his $5 million club option for 2026 a possible no brainer. The best way to accomplish this task is turning Tyler Kinley into the next Pierce Johnson.
Feel the Tyler Kinley mania pic.twitter.com/i0vgCx0aYP
— Scott Coleman (@scottcoleman55) July 30, 2025
Braves' blueprint for success with Tyler Kinley is copying what makes Pierce Johnson so good
Before we get too critical of the thought of comparing Kinley's 5.07 career ERA to Johnson's 3.76 career ERA, notice where the similarities lie with these two pitchers. Firstly, both guys depend on their breaking ball as their main pitch. Kinley throws his slider 61% of the time, averages 87.3 mph, and generates a 33.7 whiff% on that pitch. Pierce Johnson leans on his nasty curveball 71.6% of the time, averages 86 mph, and generates a 29.2 whiff% on that pitch.
Both guys were sporting ERA's around 6.00 when Anthopoulos acquired them from Colorado. Both had awful home/road splits thanks to pitching in the nightmare that is Coors Field. The biggest difference as of now between the two pitchers is one critical area: walk rate.
While Johnson is generally in the zone quite often (6.5% walk rate), Kinley struggles in this area owning a 12.7% walk rate. It was a frustratingly quiet deadline for the Braves, but should they fix Kinley's command issues they could walk away winners. Kinley produces soft contact, and gets plenty of chase on his slider; all he needs to improve is his ability to find the zone more often.
The second half of the season is a great opportunity for Atlanta to find out which arms could stick around in the bullpen for 2026. Kinley can become part of that group if he leans on his amazing breaking ball and starts throwing a few more strikes. Let's hope he can have a few conversations with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and new teammate Pierce Johnson and figure out how he can become the latest bullpen arm to revitalize their career post Coors Field.