Atlanta Braves pitching is doing something better than ever before
It’s been a long time coming, but Atlanta Braves pitching is making a lot of hitters take U-turns at the plate again.
The last time this happened, it was 2011 and pitchers with names like Hudson, Beachy, Moylan, Hanson, and Kimbrel were on the mound for the Atlanta Braves.
That was the last year in which Atlanta led baseball in batter strikeout percentage.
Even then, though… they were only K-ing hitters at an overall rate of 8.1 batters per 9 innings. Yet in that era, it was enough to lead all pitching staffs, paced by a 14.84 rate from Craig Kimbrel.
A decade later and strikeouts are up — way up — around the league. Yet after a decade in which the Braves typically have been in the bottom half of MLB with this K-rate stat, there’s suddenly a change:
- Yankees: 11.84 K per 9 innings
- Braves: 11.38
- White Sox: 11.33
- Pirates(!): 11.15
Granted… this comes after the first eight or nine games of the year for most teams, but that 8.1 figure from 2011? That’s what the St. Louis Cardinals have right now… and they rank twenty-seventh in major league baseball.
You may have noticed all of the strikeouts that Braves hitters have been accumulating, but at the same time, you should notice just how many the Atlanta pitching staff are posting themselves.
We worry about guys like Sean Newcomb and his walk rate (currently almost 5½ per 9 innings), but that still pales in comparison to his K-rate of twenty-four point three batters per nine.
In other words, in a hypothetical 9 inning game started and finished by Sean would record 24 strikeouts. That’s unheard of.
But it’s not just him:
- Will Smith: 15/9IP
- Max Fried: 14.14
- Drew Smyly: 12
- Tyler Matzek: 11.57
- Ian Anderson: 11.32
- A.J. Minter: 11.25
Even Josh Tomlin is over 10 with a 10.80 rate.
Atlanta Braves also excelling at run-prevention.
More important is the ERA rate, but strikeouts do have the tendency to stifle opponent rallies, so it shouldn’t surprise that the Braves rank 7th overall in team pitching ERA (3.15) also.
These are good numbers to get started with — clearly — and in the case of the K-rate, this would easily exceed the best in franchise history (the record being 8.79 in 2018).
In case you’re curious, the all-time best K-rate for any team in any season was posted by the 1884 Milwaukee Brewers of the Union Association at 12.03… a team with 3 pitchers that had an 8-4 record.
In the modern era, the record is held by the 2020 Cincinnati Reds with a 10.98 K-rate per nine… though four teams are currently above that figure this season.
For a full season, the record is held by the 2018 Astros (10.44).
Clearly, hitters are addicted to the home run… leaving them at high risk to leave the plate with a strikeout.
Gimme that runner on second!. dark. Next
Let’s hope the Atlanta Braves can continue their march to exploit such hitters.