House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves highs and lows on the way to 81 games

By Fred Owens

ATLANTA, GA - JULY 05: Ian Anderson #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Truist Park on July 5, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 05: Ian Anderson #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Truist Park on July 5, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves starter Kyle Wright has quietly become the number two man in their rotation. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

After 81 games, the Atlanta Braves are 47-34, 3 1/2 games back of the Mets in second place. It’s a good time to look at how they got here.

The Atlanta Braves lacked consistency early as the manager Brian Snitker looked for starting depth and ways to get the offense on track and keep it there. Here’s a look at some of the reasons the club is once again within striking distance of first place.

Pitching the Wright way

I expected Max Fried to dominate this season, and he is. In 107+ IP, he’s pitching to a 2.52 ERA, 173 ERA+, 1.025 WHIP, 3.21 SIERA, striking out 100 and walking 17.  I didn’t expect Kyle Wright to slot in as the team’s number two starter.

When the Atlanta Braves drafted Kyle Wright, I predicted he had the stuff and the polish to move quickly through the system. He did that, but his results weren’t good, and the movement was mostly up and down until this year.

Wright impressed the manager and coaches in Spring Training and broke camp with a chance to win a slot at the back of the rotation. He quickly did that and more.

In his four April starts, Wright struck out 34 and walked six while pitching to a 1.13 ERA in 24 IP. As Morton, Anderson, Elder, and Ynoa struggled, Wright found his rhythm, gained confidence, and hasn’t looked back.

He’s now the Atlanta Braves’ number two starter, pitching to a 2.91 ERA, 150 ERA+, 1.14 WHIP, 3.52 SIERA, striking out 98 and walking 31 in 96 IP.

Great strides

The Atlanta Braves drafted Spencer Strider in the fourth round of the abbreviated 2020 Rule 4 Amateur Draft; today, he owns a starting role in their rotation.

Strider began the season with 11 appearances out of the Braves bullpen, making his first start on May 30. As a starter, Strider’s thrown 35 1/3 innings, struck out 63% (53) batters and walked 12 while pitching to a 3.31 ERA.

Strider’s thrown just under 60 innings this year, 34 short of his career-high of 94 in 2021, and 63 of those innings came in AA. It’s reasonable to assume that the Braves will limit him to 120-140 innings, which works out to  12 starts if he remains in the rotation. Wherever he’s used, Strider’s here to stay,

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