Victor Mederos is quickly becoming Braves' spark plug as well as a fan favorite

The Atlanta Braves are no strangers to having unlikely heroes on their roster. Jesse Chavez defied logic in how many clutch performances he had at his age for Atlanta, and few Braves fans or experts would have guessed that Tyler Matzek would be responsible for the greatest relief performance in Braves history when he arrived at spring training in 2020. Hell, the Braves wouldn't have won the World Series in 2021 without big contributions from Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario. Now, it looks like they may have found their latest unsung contributor.

Most Braves fans wouldn't have been able to pick Victor Mederos out of a police lineup until very recently. Atlanta sent some international bonus pool money to the Angels to trade for Mederos back in April, and the Braves had been giving him the same "Gwinnett Shuttle" treatment that they have given other arms on the roster.

However, after his viral hit as well as some really impressive moments on the mound, it feels like Mederos is quickly becoming an indispensable and energetic piece of this Braves roster.

Victor Mederos has helped light a fire under the Braves and has been a huge boost to the bullpen

Now, it is important to not overstate Mederos' role or influence here, because it is pretty easy to get carried away. The most likely outcome is that he is a higher-end long man in the bullpen who can also handle high leverage situations in a pinch. Think of Collin McHugh in his prime bullpen years when you are looking for comparison, not Mariano Rivera or Craig Kimbrel.

That said, Mederos has a lot of things going for him as a bullpen arm. The Braves have been desperate in their search to cover innings, with multiple rotation arms being hurt and others struggling to pitch more than four innings a game. Not only can Mederos play that role of innings-eating reliever well, but he is also a power pitcher. Other than Robert Suarez (who is on the IL) and Didier Fuentes, the Braves don't really have a lot of bullpen arms with real fastball velocity. As a result, Mederos is a different look that could excel in situations where other relievers wouldn't.

Beyond the basic roster considerations, Mederos plays with a lot of energy and the Braves dugout feeds off that. When he got his first (and very likely last) hit, Mederos was absolutely pumped, and the rest of the Braves were eating it up. When he mowed down the Padres on Monday night, you could tell that he was amped up and Atlanta played with that same energy. Sure, there are quantifiable benefits to having Mederos around, but that doesn't mean that is the whole story. In fact, it is those intangibles that may end up being the greatest benefit of all.

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