Ryan Weber doesn’t have the same pedigree as the other rookie pitchers to start for the Braves this season but, so far, he has the best results.
Weber’s third start of the season was his best. He limited the Phillies to one run over seven innings while facing two more than the minimum 21 batters during Saturday’s 2-1 Braves victory. Weber allowed just two singles, walked two and struck out five while throwing 61 strikes on 98 pitches.
Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons played with Weber in the minor leagues and said he’s seeing now what he saw then: a no-frills, efficient pitcher who uses a good sinker to induce contact. Weber recorded 10 ground-ball outs and three fly-ball outs against the Phillies.
“He comes right at you,” Simmons said. “Every once in a while somebody will have a bad day, you won’t feel it, but on a normal day he’s like (Bartolo) Colon a little bit. He’s got movement, works with the off-speed a little bit. Most of the time it’s easy ground balls.”
Weber, 25, has yet to have a bad start. In his debut he limited the Phillies to four hits and two runs over six innings. Weber was charged with two of his four runs allowed against the Mets when Matt Marksberry gave up a single that scored two inherited runners in the seventh inning.
Weber was even better in the rematch against the Phillies. He credited an improved curveball and changeup for his success—he’d said before the start that he was adjusting to gripping major league balls, which have a different texture than those used in the minors.
The Braves selected Weber in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft . Weber pitched very well for Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett this season but saw three starting pitching prospects new to the Braves’ system get called up before him: Mike Foltynewicz, Matt Wisler and Manny Banuelos.
It’s only been three starts for Weber but he leads the rookie starters in ERA (3.27), walks and hits per inning pitched (0.83) and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.5). Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez tempered expectations for Weber a bit while acknowledging his early promise.
“We’ll slow play it but he’s pitched well,” Gonzalez said. “He moves the ball, he follows the glove, he fields his position. He does a lot of good stuff. I say let’s slow play it because he’s a young kid, you don’t want to all of a sudden make him Greg Maddux. But you know what? He competes. He changes speeds. He does a lot of good things out there.”
