Huascar Ynoa a Patchwork Solution to Braves’ Rotation Woes
This post is the latest in Off The Bench Baseball’s running series on Huascar Ynoa. Find other takes on Ynoa here and here.
After clinching the NL East and with one of the most potent offenses in the National League, the Atlanta Braves are shaping up to be a serious contender as the season accelerates into the playoffs.A deep bullpen and dynamic offense make them a nasty matchup for any Fall Classic hopefuls, but questions swirl around the depth of their rotation after the announcement of Cole Hamels season-ending injury. The IL has plagued the front end of Atlanta’s rotation this year, forcing them to use 12 starters so far in the shortened season.
Huascar Ynoa has been a popular spot starter in lieu of Atlanta’s pitching woes, handling the front end of bullpen games for the NL East Champions. The twenty-two year old right handed hurler made his fifth start of the season Monday night against the Marlins, taking the mound for three innings to the tune of three runs. Ynoa struggled to locate early on, serving up singles to a gritty Miami lineup that thrives on the small-ball approach to plating runners. He settled in after the rocky start, but a pitch limit and concerns about his recent lower back tightness kept him in the dugout when the Braves took the field in the fourth inning.
Ynoa looks to be a part of the Braves staff when they go pennant chasing this October, but he may be better suited pitching out of the bullpen.After acquiring him from the Twins in 2017, he shot through Atlanta’s farm system and made his debut for the pro club last season. He was far from a stud at the minor league level, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over 97.1 innings in 2019, most of which was for the AAA Gwinnet Stripers. Despite his mediocre numbers, the Braves felt he had developed enough to make the jump to the majors.He’s a hard throwing righty with a power slider that misses bats, and when he establishes this one-two punch he can certainly get outs.; But, as made evident in Monday night’s appearance, locating these pitches is a different story. He struggled early to hit the black with his fastball, and left his slider on a dinner plate for a hungry Marlin’s lineup.
Ynoa is still really young and has not had many opportunities in low pressure situations yet. But he’s been able to rebound from bad pitches and innings, and with a powerhouse offense and one of the deepest bullpens in the NL he has some room to make mistakes. Playoffs are another beast, though, and with the MLB eliminating off days in the Wild Card and Division series, the Braves will have to be more careful where they use this young rookie going forward.
-Tyler Hickman
