Is it time for the Braves to call up Craig Kimbrel?

On April 14th, the Braves made their very fans happy when it was announced the club had signed Craig Kimbrel to a minor-league contract.

The decision didn’t come with a guarantee that Kimbrel would ever pitch for the major-league club. He is coming off a season in which he posted a 5.33 ERA over 57 appearances with the Baltimore Orioles, and his age really started to show during the second half of the year.

From July 14th to the end of the season, he pitched to the tune of an 11.50 ERA and a 7.44 FIP over 18 innings. However, he did post a 2.10 ERA and 2.47 FIP in the first half, so there was some hope he could potentially contribute in Atlanta to some degree.

Which was notable, as the Braves bullpen really struggled to begin the season. That’s changed in a big way as of late, and that’s probably why Craig Kimbrel has not received the call. Because he’s been nails on the farm, and the stuff only looks to be improving with time.

Kimbrel began his season with the AA Columbus Clingstones, where he made three appearances and didn’t even allow a hit with eight strikeouts, leading to a promotion to Gwinnett.

However, his velocity wasn’t quite where it needed to be to find success at the major-league level, sitting around 90-91 with his heater.

That feeble fastball was apparent once Kimbrel joined the Stripers, as his strikeout rate plummeted and some bumps in the road began to appear.

But as of this week, Kimbrel’s ERA is down to 2.35 with Gwinnett, and his fastball is touching 95.

That changes things. It now appears like it’s just a matter of time before Craig Kimbrel joins the Atlanta Braves.

He’s certainly shown enough during his 11 appearances on the farm, boasting a 1.64 ERA to go along with a 9.8 K/9. When he makes his return is now the question, which likely depends on the current members of the Braves relief core.

Outside of Raisel Iglesias, everyone is pitching well right now in Atlanta, and the Braves aren’t going to get rid of Iglesias to make room for Kimbrel, even if that’s what some crazy fans might suggest. The days of Kimbrel closing are well in the rearview mirror.

With that being said, there is a chance he can be a productive member of Atlanta’s bullpen in the near future.