At some point the Braves may have to send right-hander Matt Wisler back to Triple-A Gwinnett so he can pitch consistent innings. Or maybe not.
Wisler has been effective in limited relief work over his two seasons in the majors, with one hit and two walks allowed over six scoreless innings entering Tuesday. The Braves called him up April 23 because long reliever Josh Collmenter had piled up innings at the time, but Wisler has stayed in their eight-man bullpen.
Wisler has made only two appearances since he was called up. Braves manager Brian Snitker said it’s possible Wisler would have to go back to the minors for more work, but not necessarily.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt him at all being here and being used the way we are using him,” Snitker said before the Braves played the Mets on Tuesday. “I think it’s good to experience that and stay here and be around this environment. Who knows? He might end up finding his niche.”
Wisler has been a starting pitcher since the Padres drafted him in 2011. All but two of his 98 minor league games were as a starter and he’d started 45 of 49 games for the Braves before Tuesday.
Wisler lost out on a spring competition to be the No. 5 starter and made three starts for Gwinnett before his promotion. He said he would eventually like to get back to starting but noted that there are advantages to pitching in relief.
“You can just go out there, letting it (loose) every time you are out there,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about setting guys up (because) you’ve got to face them three or four times. You just go out there with your best stuff from the get-go.”
Wisler has yet to make an appearance in a high-leverage situation this season. The Braves had a six-run lead against the Mets on Wednesday when Wisler pitched the eighth and ninth innings, and they were up by eight runs against the Brewers on Saturday when Wisler pitched the eighth.
