1. Atlanta Braves Player Who Needs to Stay Hot: Charlie Morton
Charlie Morton has been shaky at times since joining Atlanta. He had a pretty rough first half of the year last season. Despite a decent ERA this year, his K rates and walk rates have been heading in the wrong direction. He's closing in on 40 years old and has been prone to cold streaks.
Right now, we aren't too worried about any of that, are we? Morton has been on fire the past few starts. Over the past three starts, Morton has lowered his ERA from 3.86 to 3.37 by pitching 18.0 scoreless innings. Over that time, he has struck out 25 hitters and allowed just nine hits. After walking seven three starts ago against the Mets (still in a scoreless outing), he has allowed just two free passes over his past two starts.
This has come as a great relief since the fours starts prior to the three referenced above, were the polar opposite. In those four starts, he posted a 7.32 ERA with 15 walks in 19 innings!
Why do we need Charlie Morton to stay hot for the postseason? Because you need all the starting pitching you can get in the playoffs. Charlie is going to be one of our big three. If Max loses a game, Strider and Morton need to be there to pick him up. The offense will be facing the best teams, the best rotations, and the best pitchers of those rotations.
We all know how important starting pitching is in the postseason, and the Braves need Morton at his best behind Strider and Fried.
Read: 4 Reasons the Braves Will Win the World Series in 2023
Also Read: 5 Reasons the Braves Won't Win the World Series in 2023