Jayson Stark gives us his players and pitchers of the month for April. The Atlanta Braves very own Craig Kimbrel makes the list as Reliever of the Month. Here's what Stark has to say:
Maybe a month ago, there were still questions about the back end of the Braves' bullpen. But you can rest that case -- because it's now clear that manager Fredi Gonzalez gets to wave for the most unhittable closer in baseball. So how unhittable is Kimbrel? He has faced 35 hitters this year -- and exactly four have gotten a hit, 10 fewer than he's struck out.
But that's nothing new. This guy has piled up more than four times as many punchouts in his brief career (54) as he's allowed hits (13). And the only other closer in history who has even had a two-whiffs-per-hit career ratio is Carlos Marmol (515 K's, 242 H's). So this is ridiculous. "He's the closest thing to a right-handed Billy Wagner that we'll ever see," one scout said.
Just in case you needed any really happy Braves news today ... and why would you? Kimbrel's stats so far this year: