2. Atlanta Braves Player Who Needs to Stay Hot: Bryce Elder
Bryce Elder had one of the best first halves of the year. He got the nod to his first All-Star game and repeatedly shut opposing teams down despite not striking anyone out. We worry about Bryce Elder because of his underlying metrics. We've covered all the blue on his Baseball Savant page before. We've discussed how, in 2022, there was only one pitcher in the top 30 in ERA that had a lower K/9 than Elder. Striking out five guys per nine doesn't work at an elite level in today's game.
This is why we have expressed concern over Elder's ability to continue his dominance. The other shoe dropped in the second half. He has a good ERA on the season right now at 3.39, but between July 9th and August 10, Elder was terrible.
During that six-game stretch, he gave up 25 earned runs (29 total) in just 28.1 innings pitched. He allowed six homers and opponents posted an .872 OPS against the young right-hander.
Elder is getting hot again and hopefully, it is here to stay. He has allowed just one run over the past two starts. Both of those starts were against both of the scuffling New York teams.
Why do the Braves need Elder to stay hot?
There is more uncertainty in the rotation than the Braves want to deal with heading into the postseason. Kyle Wright is working his way back and we don't know how he's going to look yet. The Braves currently have a black hole in the fifth spot of the rotation.
The Braves need Elder to stay hot and provide stability to the rotation for the remainder of the season. If Wright isn't ready, the Braves may be forced to turn to Elder for some solid outings in a seven-game series.
If someone gets injured, the Braves need the good Elder and not the bad one. He needs to stay hot.
And of course, that brings us to our top player who needs to stay hot... on the next page.