Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos knew he was inheriting one of the game’s promising young arms when he took the job in November. But Mike Soroka might be even better than he thought.
Soroka has made three starts with Triple-A Gwinnett, posting a 2.87 ERA with 20 strikeouts against just two walks in 15-2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .237 against the 20-year-old.
“I think if anything, his ceiling might be a little higher than people may’ve thought coming in,” Anthopoulos said on Wednesday.
Exhibiting early-season dominance, along with an excellent spring, puts Soroka in serious consideration for a rotation spot when one opens.
“He looks great,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s definitely, when we have a need for a starter, he’s right there in the conversation for us. That’s as big a compliment as I can pay him. Let him get innings, let him continue to pitch. When and if we have a need at some point, he’ll definitely be in that conversation as a guy that, ‘Should he be that guy?’”
It’s Soroka’s 32.8 percent strikeout rate proving additional reason for optimism. Soroka had a 19.9 percent strikeout rate with Double-A Mississippi last season.
“I think the most encouraging thing so far is the K-numbers,” Anthopoulos said. “The swing and misses have gone up this year. That’s been exciting to see. Not that we asked him to change that. Just with his youth and the performance so far, it’s been outstanding.
“Just seeing the maturity, the velocity’s been a tick up at times with age, strength-gains, stuff like that. I don’t want this to be construed that we’re looking for him to strike guys out. His game’s getting better. He’s missing more bats. It was already good at the beginning.”
Soroka addressed his newfound strikeout prowess April 13 following his first home start. He didn’t realize he had such ability while in the lower minors.
“You look at first year in low-A, you hear labels thrown on people sometimes,” he said. “And I think it’s the industry we’re in right now. We’re quick to judge sometimes. Both sides, there are guys you could say that for everybody. As an 18-year-old, I kind of fell into those labels a bit and started trying to pitch to one strength, which is my sinker. I didn’t really go out there to dominate.
“At the end of that year, (Braves pitching coach) Chuck (Hernandez), D-Lew (Double-A pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn) and (Single-A Rome pitching coach) Dan Meyer brought me aside and said ‘Look, this is what you got. You have no reason to shy back. We know you have the stuff in there.”
That conversation resulted in a fresh mindset, Soroka said.
“That’s really when I took off and starting having a lot of fun pitching. You look at just the amount of fun I’ve had out there, and like I said, it’s just so much easier to have confidence when you are having fun and you understand that all four pitches that you throw are strikeout pitches if you use them right. That goes a long way as well.”
The Braves can thank their pitching coaches throughout the organization if Soroka’s strikeout trajectory continues. And the more it does, the more tantalizing his potential becomes.
