Despite the struggle on the field of late for the Atlanta Braves, one thing remains the same. Atlanta's bullpen is a dependable strength of this team. They have found many key contributors throughout the season to their National League leading 3.24 ERA.
Atlanta has found some of the best late inning options in Jimenez, Iglesias, and Minter. They even had to send one of the better relievers down to Gwinnett simply because he had options left. Despite the big names, one reliever in particular continues to fly under the radar.
Pierce Johnson has been lockdown
The group is a tight-knit bunch down in the bullpen, and players know how good Pierce Johnson has been in 2024. Somehow, the national media hasn't given Pierce that same praise yet.
“You have to be even keel. You gotta pick guys up when they need it. We have such a good group down in that bullpen and everyone keeps each other accountable.”
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) August 10, 2024
Colorado native Pierce Johnson caught up @HannaRaeYates with ahead of tonight's game🔊 pic.twitter.com/pDYQZrhoFE
While the season numbers may not jump off the page at you (5-4, 3.43 ERA) Johnson's underlying numbers display how dominant he has been. His 2.83 FIP and 12.1 K/9 rank as some of the best marks in Atlanta's deep bullpen.
Johnson ranks in the 92nd percentile in K%, 86th percentile in whiff%, and 83 percentile in barrel%. He does most of his damage with his lethal swing and miss curveball. Johnson throws the curve much harder than the average pitcher (85.6 mph average) and is elite at generating spin.
Pierce is averaging nearly 3000 RPM's on his curveball, and it's a big reason why hitters are slugging just .333 against that pitch in 2024. Not to be outdone, his fastball is holding hitters to an even lower slugging percentage. However, Johnson throws his fastball just 21% of the time.
Johnson's continued dominance and the rest of the bullpens excellent work is a big reason why the Braves are even in postseason consideration. And while times have fallen hard, the rest of the team following Pierce Johnson's path would go a long way toward righting the ship.