MILWAUKEE – Braves rookie A.J. Minter struck out three of four batters he faced in the ninth inning Saturday at Milwaukee, another example of his recent progress and a reminder of why he’s been projected as a future closer since he was drafted in 2015.
That future could be sooner than later. Minter already has part-time closer duties, as manager Brian Snitker is being cautious with closer Arodys Vizcaino in an effort to avoid a recurrence of shoulder inflammation that already landed “Viz” on the disabled list once this season. Minter and Dan Winkler each got save opportunities in that period, with Minter recording saves in consecutive games July 1-2 at St. Louis and Yankee Stadium.
When he struck out two in a hitless and scoreless 11th inning Monday at New York to finish a 5-3 win against the Yankees, Minter pumped his fist after the last pitch, which qualified as a considerable show of emotion for the normally reserved left-hander.
“Pretty cool,” Minter said of that experience in front of a crowd of 43,792 in the Bronx. “When you’re in those type of situations you’re going to get jacked up. Biggest part for me is to try to control it as best I can.”
After pitching a perfect inning for his first save April 25 at Cincinnati, Minter got himself in a jam in his next save opportunity May 14 at Chicago, allowing a run, two hits, a walk and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch before Kris Bryant lined out to end the 5-4 Braves win in front of a rowdy, near-capacity crowd at Wrigley Field.
“He has a save at Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium, that’s pretty good for a first-year reliever,” Snitker said. “I can tell he’s liking that situation, too. He doesn’t back down, he’s got a lot of confidence in himself, he’s feeling good. You watch him in these situations, he likes being out there.”
In Saturday’s win at Milwaukee, Vizcaino pitched the eighth inning and Minter got the ninth, with Snitker saying he preferred the match-ups Vizcaino would have in the eighth.
Minter’s three-strikeout inning continued his impressive stretch since the beginning of June, with a 1.17 ERA and .122 opponents’ average over 16 appearances while recording 20 strikeouts and only two walks in 15 1/3 innings. In 24 appearances before June he had a 3.74 ERA and .294 opponents’ average with 22 strikeouts and 13 walks in 21 2/3 innings.
His fastball velocity has been up a couple of ticks in recent weeks, back to 95-97 mph on a regular basis. He’s displayed the form the Braves saw last season when Minter was dominant for most of 16 appearances in his first stint in the majors, finishing with a stunning 26 strikeouts to just two walks in 15 innings.
“I think he’s feeling good, and he’s been out there more and is real confident in what he’s got going right now,” Snitker said of Minter’s improvement since June 1. “And pitching those games with the saves, you’re not afforded the luxury of walking anybody either. But I just think now he’s gotten regular work, he feels good. I can tell, when you watch him in those situations, that he’s liking that. When you see the velocity, the command, the whole thing has been pretty good.”
The last Braves lefty with multiple saves in a season was Jonny Venters with five in 2011. And the last rookie lefty with more than four saves in a season was Chris Sale, who had eight in 2011.
After his much-cleaner save at Yankee Stadium than the one at Wrigley, Minter said his limited experience in closing already made a difference.
“Yeah, the atmosphere kind of takes repetition, it takes experience,” he said. “But I felt like those three previous saves were helping me towards the future.”
And now that he’s had a taste of closing major league games in energized environments, the high-pressure role is just as appealing as it ever was for Minter, if not more so.
“Yeah, who wouldn’t want to be in those situations?” he said. “The game’s on the line, you want to try and pick up your teammates as best you can. ... I think when the game’s on the line, you almost perform better, you know what I mean? You’re kind of focused a little bit more, you have to reach down and find something inside of you and try to get the job done.
“You’re going to fail some of the time and you’re going to succeed some of the time. It’s trying to balance it out where you’re obviously succeeding more.”
