PHOENIX – Well, it’s Memorial Day.
In baseball, this is seen as the season’s first checkpoint. Generally, teams have played enough games to begin fairly evaluating the club as a whole.
And of course, everything can change in an instant, as last year’s Braves proved. But this holiday often allows us to check in and see where each club stands.
The Braves arrived in Phoenix with a 23-25 record, trailing the first-place Mets by 8.5 games. The Braves certainly can begin a run with three games here against the Diamondbacks and four versus the Rockies, as both opponents aren’t seen as contenders this year.
“We’re grinding trying to get ourselves going, that’s all,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said before Monday’s series opener. “We’ve been taking some steps in the right direction, I think. I like where we’re going. But sometimes it takes a while. We’ve got a lot of ballgames to play. A lot can happen. I think we’re fine.”
The bad news on the Braves this season: They haven’t been really, really good yet.
The good news: They haven’t been really, really bad yet.
They have not won three games in a row and have not lost three games in a row. They are floating somewhere in the middle, with everyone waiting for them to take off.
“Just hasn’t been as consistent enough yet,” pitcher Kyle Wright said last week. “I feel like it’s coming. This team’s too good not to go on a stretch, go on a run. We’re just scuffling a little bit after getting those two (consecutive wins), but I still believe in this team wholeheartedly. We got too much talent to not go on a run at some point.”
As of Memorial Day, the Braves ranked 22nd in baseball with a .232 team batting average, but 12th with a .704 OPS. They were second in the National League and fourth in the majors with 60 home runs.
The issue for them thus far: They haven’t hit as well as they would like with runners in scoring position. As they headed into the Diamondbacks series, their .235 batting average with runners in scoring position ranked 20th in MLB, and their .659 OPS in those spots was 24th.
This must improve.
But with a lineup that includes Ronald Acuña, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna, and with Dansby Swanson hitting well, there isn’t a ton of reason for concern just yet. And it seems like the Braves are trending in the correct direction in this area.
“If you knew what (the key) was, you’d address it before it happened,” Snitker said. “It’s just one of those things that happens in baseball. That’s why this is such a great game because you just never know what, when, where, how. It’s not for lack of effort and work because these guys work their tails off all the time. They prepare every day; they’re consistent. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. You get on runs where you don’t really know why, and it just does and you can’t explain it.”
Spencer Strider’s inclusion in the rotation for Monday’s start is indicative of the Braves’ main issue on the mound: They haven’t gotten anything out of the fifth starter spot. They tried Huascar Ynoa and Bryce Elder and Tucker Davidson, and none could permanently take it.
Braves starting pitchers had a combined 4.38 ERA before Strider’s first career start, which ranked 23rd in baseball. But we should note that number also is influenced by the ERAs of the fifth starters to this point. (For example, Ynoa had a 13.50 ERA over two starts).
Max Fried has shined, and Wright has been a breakout star. Charlie Morton has struggled to consistently look like himself, and Ian Anderson has settled in nicely. Overall, the Braves’ rotation isn’t a cause for concern.
Their bullpen’s 3.35 ERA ranks 10th in the majors. The Braves’ relievers have the sixth-best opponents’ batting average (.216) in the game.
Kenley Jansen has been almost perfect. Out of the bullpen, Strider has dominated. A.J. Minter is having a great season. The unit is without Luke Jackson (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Matzek (left shoulder inflammation). The main concern here: The Braves’ bullpen might be one injury or surprise underperformance away from being in trouble, though modern-day bullpens can be volatile.
Overall, the Braves don’t have a glaring weakness that appears as if it could keep them from contending. Are there issues? Sure.
But they have the talent. The pieces are in place.
Now, it’s about achieving some sort of consistency.
Strider gets opportunity as a fifth starter
Could Strider be the answer for the rotation’s fifth slot?
He has pitched out of the bullpen. Now it’s time to start, at least for now.
“It’s just more our need here, really,” Snitker said. “He can provide that. … I’ve liked him later in the game, but I think right now, with where we’re at, searching for that fifth spot, that he might be able to provide that.”
Snitker said Strider, who can throw 100 mph-plus, doesn’t need to hit triple digits. With his stuff, he can simply throw strikes and let his pitches play.
“There’s a lot to like about this young man,” Snitker said. “Where he ends up down the road, I don’t know. But right now, he’s providing a good service for us being a starter.”
Morton gets an extra day
On Saturday, Morton received a call from pitching coach Rick Kranitz, who told Morton that he would be pitching Tuesday in Arizona instead of Monday.
Morton is getting an extra day of rest. He didn’t alter his in-between-starts schedule because he already had thrown his bullpen session by the time he found out, but he’s appreciative of the extra rest in general.
“I think it helps on the back end, getting those extra days,” Morton said. “I’m not a guy that’s like, ‘I have to pitch every five days.’ I know some guys do that. I just feel like, personally, there’s times where I’ve really appreciated having (the extra rest), especially down in September and into October. Pitching fatigued is not ideal. I mean, everybody does it, to a certain degree.”
Before pitching for the Braves, Morton pitched for the Rays. And before that, he pitched for the Astros. Those are three organizations who generally are viewed as more forward-thinking clubs, and Morton said he’s taken advantage of the “new mind-set” of load management in baseball.
