3 Reasons Atlanta Braves Have Best Pitching Staff in NL
Did you know the Braves have the best pitching staff in the NL, if not the best in all of baseball? Here are some of the statistics and reasons behind the dominance.
Starting Pitching - The Big Three & Max Fried
Name | Wins | Losses | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spencer Strider | 16 | 4 | 3.56 | 1.05 |
Charlie Morton | 14 | 10 | 3.29 | 1.36 |
Bryce Elder | 11 | 4 | 3.42 | 1.22 |
These three have been the glue for a team that has started 16 different guys this year. Many have questioned the sustainability of Bryce Elder's performance due to his underlying metrics, but he has a pretty big sample size on his resume at this point.
Elder boasts 209.1 career innings pitched with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.228 WHIP.
Charlie Morton is not ready to be old yet. He has a 0.38 ERA in his last four starts. That is one run in 24.0 innings pitched.
Spencer Strider is a legitimate Cy Young candidate. His 3.56 ERA is inflated due to a couple of rough starts. So, even though his ERA is really good, his 2.81 FIP indicates that he has had some bad luck. Strider leads the league in wins, strikeouts, FIP, SP WHIP, and SO9.
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Max Fried has made 11 starts and really helped seal things up in the second half. The Braves are in fantastic shape for a postseason run with a top four of Fried, Strider, Morton, and Elder. Especially when they are backed by a bullpen like the Braves have.
Atlanta Braves Pitching: The Stats Don't Lie
The Atlanta Braves have the best team ERA in the National League at 3.78. They trail only the Toronto Blue Jays (3.72) and the Seattle Mariners (3.66) in all of baseball.
The Braves have the top strikeout rate per nine innings in all of baseball. Atlanta pitchers are striking out 9.54 hitters per nine. Having Spencer Strider sure helps boost the numbers but the Braves have strikeout pitchers up and down the bullpen.
The entire pitching staff has a home run per nine innings pitched rate of 1.06. This is barely behind St. Louis' 1.03 HR/9.
The Braves bullpen also leads the league in relief ERA with a 3.44 mark. The Braves starters are second in the NL in ERA with a 4.01 mark. They lead the league in SP wins with 59.
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Atlanta's starters boast a 1.11 HR/9 IP, barely in second behind the Cardinals again. It's not hard to imagine when you have strikeout pitchers like Morton and Strider, then Bryce Elder preventing hard contact. The Braves SPs keep the ball in the yard.
Atlanta Braves Have Best Bullpen
Kirby Yates, Joe Jimenez, AJ Minter, and Raisel Iglesias are putting Ks on the board at a rapid rate out of the pen. Yates' resurgence has been great for Atlanta. He has become a high-leverage pitcher for Snit with a 2.73 ERA.
All four of those guys have over 10 SO/9 Ip and only Minter is under 11 SO/9 IP. Yates, Jimenez, and Iglesias have ERAs that range from 2.56 to 2.77.
We've covered Yates' magical comeback season before. Joe Jimenez is one of the smoothest acquisitions of the offseason. Jimenez has been lights out. Jimenez has 63 strikeouts in 48.2 innings with a 2.77 ERA in 2023.
Raisel Iglesias has a 2.56 ERA and 28 saves on the season. AJ Minter struggled a bit early but has been dominant ever since. Minter has a 1.84 ERA since June 4th.
With outstanding performances from guys like Nick Anderson, Jesse Chavez, and more, this pen has been a key piece in the Braves' outstanding run differential this season.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Braves Won't Win World Series in 2023
This pitching staff has highlighted Alex Anthopoulos' superiority in the front office. It has also shown the value of pitching depth. You know the old saying? You can NEVER have enough pitching. With the injuries the Braves have not only survived but managed to thrive through, they have proven the old adage true.