{"id":6473,"date":"2024-11-10T00:54:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-10T00:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=6473"},"modified":"2024-11-10T00:54:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-10T00:54:18","slug":"this-unheralded-braves-bullpen-arm-deserves-a-bigger-role-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=6473","title":{"rendered":"This unheralded Braves bullpen arm deserves a bigger role in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/figure>\n

The Atlanta Braves rewarded Aaron Bummer for using his high\u00a0strikeout and\u00a0groundball rates to shutdown the left-handed power bats that populate the NL East, by extending him through 2026.<\/p>\n

Baseball Savant tells us that Bummer\u2019s K-rate is in the 84th percentile, his\u00a0xERA, average exit velocity, and hard-hit ball rate are just above the 90th percentile, and his barrel and GB rates are elite.<\/p>\n

Bummer is a sinker-slider pitcher.\u00a0Stuff+ reveals that the sinker he throws 40% of the time is 12 points below\u00a0average. Batters slugged the sinker at a .482 rate.<\/p>\n

His only above-average pitches are\u00a0the sweeper he throws 42% of the time, and a curve (that he threw just 22 times and was likely a slider that picked up some odd spin)\u00a0he throws just 3% of the time.\u00a0You might be asking, \u201cHow does he get all those good rate stats with pitches like\u00a0that?\u201d Good question.<\/p>\n

Bummer generates a ton of groundballs and deserves more high-leverage situations<\/h2>\n

Batters put the sinker in play with an average EV just under\u00a087 mph and a launch angle of -9\u00b0.\u00a0Batters find it extremely difficult to get enough loft or exit velocity on the sinker to punish its mediocrity. The slider (sweeper, dust mop, whatever)\u00a0has an EV of 80 mph at 6\u00b3;\u00a0in other words, they hit a lot of ground balls.<\/p>\n

Bummer faced 64 left-handed batters and 19 switch hitters\u00a0this season, allowing only 27 hits in 107 PA, striking out\u00a032 and walking 6. The only lefties to do any damage were:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • CJ Abrams\u00a0\u2013 single, double, and four RBI<\/li>\n
  • Freddie Freeman\u00a0\u2013 single,\u00a0homer, and three RBI \u00a0(no surprise)<\/li>\n
  • Kyle Tucker\u00a0\u2013 homer<\/li>\n
  • Keibert Ruiz\u00a0\u2013 two singles, and\u00a0an RBI<\/li>\n
  • Steven Kwan\u00a0\u2013 single, RBI, and<\/li>\n
  • Shohei Ohtani\u00a0\u2013fielder\u2019s choice, RBI<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The other 18 hits didn\u2019t produce a run.<\/p>\n

    Lefties batted .266\/.326\/.392<\/strong> against Bummer. Righties had a better average but their .284\/.338\/.348<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0line shows that they didn\u2019t slug as well. However, they drove\u00a0three times as many runs and scored just short of four times as often when\u00a0Bummer was on the bump. Almost all of that scoring came when the Braves\u2019 lefty entered the game with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n

    Tough luck with frogs on the pond<\/h2>\n

    Entering a game with\u00a0runners on base\u00a0is one of the most difficult situations a reliever can face.\u00a0 If those runners are in scoring position, the level of difficulty increases, and most pitchers will post slightly worse numbers. Sample size affects all stats, so I compared Bummer to other lefty relievers who faced at least 50 batters with RISP.<\/p>\n

    On the season,\u00a0he held opposing hitters to a .277\/.333\/.364<\/strong> line, but the\u00a083 batters who faced Bummer with runners in scoring position posted a .282\/.349\/.394 <\/strong>line.\u00a0That .744 OPS was 33rd in baseball.<\/p>\n

    While Bummer\u2019s K-rate improved to 34%,\u00a0third-best on that list, his BB-rate slipped to 11% putting him 27th\u00a0among that group.<\/p>\n

    Of more concern was the 7.2 run jump that saw him drop to 34th on the list with\u00a0a 10.70 ERA<\/strong>, and\u00a0his strand rate dropping from\u00a072% overall to\u00a022nd on the list at 22%.<\/p>\n

    Note that in the following lists, two of these things can be true at the same time. For example, Bummer left a game with runners on, and the score remained\u00a0the same.<\/em><\/p>\n

    In the 37 games he entered with the bases empty, he:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Held the lead 25 times,<\/li>\n
    • Allowed runs four times,<\/li>\n
    • Allowed the opposition to extend their lead four times,<\/li>\n
    • Left the game with men on base five times,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      He entered games with runners on base 19 times and\u00a0left with the score unchanged 11 times. He also:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Gave up the lead\u00a0twice, including one blown save<\/li>\n
      • Allowed the opposition to extend their lead four times<\/li>\n
      • Left mid-inning with men on base\u00a0four times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        The sample size from last season doesn’t warrant the distrust Bummer has with the fans<\/h2>\n

        I know the last bit makes it seem that I\u2019m anti-Bummer, but that\u2019s not the case. Aaron Bummer is perfect for middle-inning relief when he starts an inning and in low to medium-leverage situations.<\/p>\n

        When I first saw the numbers for the\u00a0extension the\u00a0Atlanta Braves gave Bummer, I thought it was an overpay. However, a deeper look showed it was a way for the\u00a0Braves to retain control, redistribute actual\u00a0payroll, and save\u00a0$1M over two years. Bummer\u00a0essentially gave up a potential<\/em> $14M and took a\u00a0guaranteed<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0$13M.<\/p>\n

        I suspect the Braves pitching gurus will try to find a way to improve his numbers against righties, and I hope they add another high-leverage arm to back up Dylan Lee and allow Bummer to do what he does best.<\/p>\n

        More from House That Hank Built<\/h2>\n
        \n
        \n

        manual<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Atlanta Braves reliever Aaron Bummer has split opinions on his talents. Should the Braves trust him with a bigger role in 2025?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nThis unheralded Braves bullpen arm deserves a bigger role in 2025 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=6473\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This unheralded Braves bullpen arm deserves a bigger role in 2025 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Atlanta Braves reliever Aaron Bummer has split opinions on his talents. 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