Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on Pitcher Chad Sobotka

The Atlanta Braves transitioned towering RHP Chad Sobotka to the bullpen in 2016. Can he be an impact reliever?

Who Is He?

Sobotka was drafted by the Braves in the 4th round in 2014 out of small school University of South Carolina Upstate. While he had a lot of upside as a pitcher, he had a stress fracture in his back, and he did not pitch as a professional in 2014.

Sobotka debuted in 2015 with low-A Rome, a pretty aggressive start for a pitcher with no professional experience. He was injured in late June and worked his way back in late August to finish out the season. His numbers on the season look quite poor, but it really comes from two very poor starts that totaled 11 earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. Overall, his numbers were 15 games, 9 starts, 37 innings, 6.32 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and a 22/22 BB/K ratio.

Sobotka started 2016 on the disabled list and did not make his season debut until the season was already a month old. He was making the transition to the bullpen full-time already, but his injury history has really sealed his fate in his role. Sobotka’s promotion to high-A Carolina may have seemed odd at the time, as he sat with a 4.26 ERA at the time, but his performance at Carolina was so outstanding that he earned a late-year promotion to AA Mississippi, where he threw well in the playoffs for Mississippi, totaling 5 1/3 innings with 5 hits, no earned runs, and a 3/4 BB/K rate in the playoffs.

Overall, Sobotka’s line in 2016 across three levels was 30 games, 38 2/3 innings, 3.03 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 15/45 BB/K ratio.

Next: Sobotka's scouting report