Atlanta Braves 2023 season review: Dylan Lee takes a step back

Left-handed relief pitcher Dylan Lee had an incredible 2022 season for the Atlanta Braves. He was 27 years of age and in his second season as a big leaguer. He was trusted on 46 seperate occasions and overall did not disappoint. He posted a 5-1 record with an unbelievable 2.13 ERA.

After a season like that, the Braves felt like they had found another lefty outside of A.J, Minter they coudl trust. Lee was supposed to be a big part of the Atlanta bullpen in 2023, but life happened.

Lee was still able to appear in a total of 24 games this past season but his performance was nowhere near the same. In only 23.2 innings of work, Lee posted a 4.18 ERA and struck out 24. He also surrendered four homers during this stretch. By the numbers, it feels like when Lee was on the mound, his opponent struck out or went deep.

When his small sample size of work concluded, Lee was sidelined with injury like many others on the Atlanta Braves pitching staff. He began on the 15-day Injured List with left shoulder inflammation on May 19th. A little over a month later, he was transferred to the 60-day Injured List.

Lee was activated from the IL on September 1st. He pitched against the Phillies on September 11th and went 0.2 innings and gave up 2 earned runs. Lee was later sent back to Gwinett and returned to the IL for the remainder of the season.

Atlanta did activate Lee on Novemeber 6th so hopefully he will be well rested and recovered from injury. When he is completley healthy, Dylan Lee is a valuable asset to the Atlanta Braves bullpen.

Baseball Reference projects Lee to carry a 3.86 ERA next season and pitch in 42 innings. If he is truly healthy, we can most likely anticipate those innings pitched being higher and ERA being lower.