Atlanta Braves: Can A.J. Minter be trusted?

Craig Kimbrel made a little noise when he showed up in Orlando on Thursday, putting Braves fans into a small social media frenzy. But the Braves already have a couple of pitchers who could fill the 9th inning role. Let’s take a ‘closer’ look at AJ Minter.

A.J. Minter notched 15 saves for the Atlanta Braves last year after taking the closer role away from Arodys Vizcaino.

He was a relatively stable solution to close out games for the Braves last year, but of course that hasn’t stopped Braves fans (and some current Braves players) to voice their opinion and stating that they would like the team to sign Craig Kimbrel  [editor’s note:  ‘raises hand’].

Along with the 15 saves, Minter had an ERA of 3.23 last year, and registered 69 K’s in 61.1 IP. His HR/9 was 0.4 which is great and I would take that every year if possible.

Before we go in any further, I think it’s important to remember that Minter did have some back problems after the All Star break last year.

With all that said, lets dive even deeper into Minter’s numbers. Since being called up during the 2017 season, Minter has had much better road numbers than he has at SunTrust Park.

His Road ERA is a sparkly 1.83 while his home ERA is 4.29. Maybe we should just allow him to wear the blue and gray jerseys?

The main focus of the story, though, involves this question:  is AJ Minter the guy the Braves need for the 2019 season in the 9th inning?

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Trying to Step Up?

If you look at AJ’s numbers in what is classified as high leverage situations, you might second guess your original answer.

Of the 21 Earned runs Minter allowed last year, 10 were in that higher leverage category while he also gave up 2 of his 3 total Home Runs in that same span.

However, Minter excelled at lower leverage situations as his ERA was below 2 and his WHIP was below 1. Now most pitchers numbers will rise slightly in higher level places, but the disparity in Minter’s numbers are kind of drastic.

Now to be fair, Minter has said he is coming to camp this year more focused and determined, and he does want the 9th inning role. So take that for what you will.

The bottom line is AJ Minter should still be one of the top 3 in the Braves bullpen, and he is only 25 years of age and will probably get even better, but as long as Craig Kimbrel remains on the market, the question will still exist…why haven’t the Braves signed the former Braves closer?

So that’s what I have to say, how about you? Do you trust Minter to be the team’s closer?  If not, would you prefer Vizcaino or do you still insist the Braves lock up Kimbrel?  Let us know below.