Kyle Muller is a major leaguer.
The Braves promoted their top lefty prospect from Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday. Muller will fill the open spot created when the team placed left-hander Tucker Davidson on the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation. Muller will begin his first major-league tenure as a reliever.
‘I’ve been thinking about this day for so long,” Muller said. “So that’s pretty much the biggest thing others have told me is to have fun and then embrace the emotions rather than try and, you know, suppress the adrenaline. All the things like tingly arms, the heavy legs, like those are all things your body (is doing to get) ready to go. And so just embracing that and knowing that I earned this spot, I deserve to be here and pitching.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said after Tuesday’s game that Davidson would go on the IL and the team would announce a corresponding move Wednesday. Meanwhile, around 11:20 p.m., Muller was driving home from Coolray Field after the Stripers’ win and received a call from Gwinnett manager Matt Tuiasosopo.
“We were just chatting it up,” Muller said. “And then he started dropping little hints about the big leagues and stuff. I kind of had a feeling. And then he’s like, ‘Well, strap it in, you’ll be there helping out the bullpen tomorrow.’ ... Then I had to pull over, and my heart started beating so fast, and I ended up calling my parents, and I tried to screen record the FaceTime, but I didn’t get the audio with it. I guess you can’t do that. So I have the reactions, but I don’t have any sound.”
Muller, 23, is the Braves’ top pitching prospect who’s yet to appear in the majors. The Braves drafted the towering Texas flamethrower in the second round of the 2016 draft. Since then, Muller has developed into one of the more intriguing pitchers in the minors.
As one would imagine with his listed 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame, Muller throws in the upper 90s (note: Muller said his weight is more in the 265-pound range). He possesses the best fastball in the organization’s system, according to Baseball America. Muller hovers around 95-97 mph and can hit triple digits. His command has been spotty throughout his career, but he has made strides in recent outings.
Muller’s ceiling will be determined by how his secondary pitches come along. He’s worked on a curveball, change-up and slider. The curveball is the most advanced of his off-speed pitches, he said. His growing repertoire and command will decide whether he stays a starter long-term, but Muller undoubtedly has tantalizing physical talent.
“With his stuff, I don’t know that he’s got to be pinpoint,” Snitker said. “That’s big stuff that guys have to get ready for. I don’t know that he’s going to have to be one of those guys that’s going to have to just paint (the corners of the plate). ... I remember the last side (session) I saw him throw in spring training. The guy is a very impressive kid. Stuff is really good.”
In seven starts with Triple-A Gwinnett this season, Muller owns a 4.60 ERA with 41 strikeouts against 19 walks. Those numbers are inflated by a poor start, however, and the southpaw has improved lately.
Muller, who last pitched June 9, has a 1.69 ERA with a 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his past three starts (16 innings).
“For me, it’s more of a mentality thing,” Muller said. “Physically I feel like I’ve been there. My stuff plays. But definitely working more on the mental side and attacking people rather than trying to pitch, but still having that competitive nature. It’s like, ‘Well, here it is, hit it’ kind of attitude. And that’s helped a bunch.”
Muller entered the season as Baseball America’s No. 7 Braves prospect. Whenever he appears in a major-league game, he’ll join starters Ian Anderson and Bryse Wilson as members of the team’s 2016 draft class to reach the majors.
“They’re all excited,” Muller said. “We’re happy that over the past five, six years, everything’s kind of starting to unfold our way. It’s been really cool.”
