The Braves are looking for Tyler Mahle to keep the good times rolling as his Atlanta start has opened with real bite. With the club going through a bit of a lull, especially at the plate, Mahle’s early work has been one of the brighter developments.
Through two starts in a Braves uniform, he has been outstanding: 12.0 innings, 16 strikeouts and just one run allowed. That kind of run won’t last forever, but Atlanta has clearly seen enough to like what it’s getting so far.
One notable wrinkle in his new look is the way he’s leaned into the splitter. Mahle has cut back on the cutter and instead has used his four-seamer and splitter for a combined 85% of his pitches, treating the cutter more like a change of pace than a real weapon.
That shift may help explain at least part of the success.
The challenge gets a little more interesting with the Twins sending Zebby Matthews to the mound. Matthews has had a rough year, posting a 4.21 xFIP and a 5.05 FIP over 91.0 innings.
His strikeout rate has dropped to 7.62 K/9, while his walk rate sits at 2.97 BB/9. He’s also lost a tick off his fastball from last season, though the pitch still has decent shape.
Matthews leans on that heater, with the rest of his mix built around volume more than overpowering secondaries. He’ll throw a slider, changeup, curveball and cutter, plus a token sinker, but the fastball is still the foundation. The problem is where it lives: the heat map shows it sitting right in the heart of the zone, which is not where a pitcher wants to keep serving up a non-prime-deGrom fastball to major league hitters.
The Twins do have a pretty good lineup, so this won’t be a free pass for Mahle. Still, it’s the kind of matchup that gives Atlanta’s offense a chance to break out of its slump and put up a big number.
In Other News...
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Braves Shortstop Problem Keeps Getting Harder To Ignore
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Even with Kim scuffling, Atlanta has found enough production from other players to keep the shortstop spot from becoming a full-blown emergency. Still, the longer his rough stretch goes on, the harder it is to ignore what the Braves are dealing with there, especially since the team needs a cleaner answer at a position that touches so many parts of the defense and lineup. [Read more 🡒]