After 16 games played in the 2019 MLB season, it is clear that the Atlanta Braves have one glaring weakness – the bullpen.
The first ten percent of the baseball season has flown by, and the Atlanta Braves find themselves comfortably in the mix of what is already proving to be a competitive race in the NL East. With a run differential so far of +12 runs, the club is performing as expected from an analytics perspective with a record of 9-7.
Extrapolated out over the course of 162 games, the Braves are on pace for 91-92 wins. Sounds good, right?
The Braves are on a run where they are scoring 5.5 runs a game. During this stretch, the starting pitching has pitched decent enough, with a combined ERA of 4.20.
This includes outlier starts such as Julio Teheran’s outing in Colorado where he dominated for 4 innings and imploded with a 6 run 5th inning. It also includes starts by rookies Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson who were initial placeholders for injured starters Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman. Wright, Wilson, and Sean Newcomb are no longer with the MLB club, and Foltynewicz should be back soon to fortify a solid starting rotation.
The one real weakness of the team, so far, is one that was predicted by many fans and analysts throughout the offseason. The Atlanta Braves front office decided, for whatever reason, to not address a unit that struggled mightily throughout the second half of last season.