Braves look to steal bullpen game against the young Logan Gilbert
Jesse Chavez will be the Braves’ nominal starter in what will be another bullpen game as the Braves continue to manage the absence of Max Fried and Kyle Wright. The Mariners are deploying a real starting pitcher, and a pretty good one in Logan Gilbert.
Gilbert was one of the top prospects in baseball when he was drafted 14th overall and when he graduated from prospect status as the 24th best prospect in baseball by Fangraphs. After a solid rookie season in 2021, he was good in 2022 and everything except for the ERA has been great so far in 2023. His xERA, FIP, and xFIP are 2.97, 2.67, and 3.07 respectively, but he has been unlucky with sequencing to have a 3.91 ERA. He has consistently been good at avoiding walks and has had solid to good strikeout rates throughout his career, with a bit of a dip in 2022. This season, he is striking out a good 10.57 batters per 9 innings and is only walking 1.76 batters per nine innings. He has a pretty average ground ball rate and is doing well to avoid homers. Gilbert’s primary weapon is his four-seamer, with exceptionally low spin rates. He mixes a slider, curveball and splitter for the rest of his pitches. He also sports 100th percentile extension on his pitches, making things that much harder on hitters to react to his pitches. All of his pitches are reasonably effective, although the splitter has been his best pitch this season, although his least used.
Gilbert should be a potent opponent for Atlanta’s offense. This will not be an easy game for Atlanta to win behind their bullpen.
Game Info
Atlanta Braves vs. Seattle Mariners
Saturday, May 20, 2023
7:15 pm EDT
Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FOX, BSSE
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
XM Radio: Ch. 182
Source: Battery Power
