After a strange two day break following Opening Day the Atlanta Braves are back in action today in a matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves were routed in Game One of 2019 thanks to some very shaky bullpen work, but will look to rebound in game two of the season on the shoulders of an exciting rookie pitcher.
It was at least somewhat surprising that Atlanta chose to turn to Bryse Wilson in game two of the season, but it is completely warranted. Wilson was one of the fastest risers ever to come through the Braves system last season as he began 2018 at High-A ball (!) and eventually made his way into the big leagues behind some stout pitching numbers between Florida and Mississippi.
Wilson is just 21 years old, stands 6’1” and weighs in at 225 lbs. He generates a ton of power with his well built frame, but is best known for the impressive command that he already possesses. His changeup is plus-plus and his slider will eventually be a plus pitch.
The numbers weren’t all that pretty in the majors as a 20-year-old, but Wilson only saw seven innings over three games which isn’t enough to create an indicative sample size anyway.
On the mound for Philly is Nick Pivetta who the Braves have seen quite a bit in the past. The 26-year-old was drafted back in 2013 by the Washington Nationals, and stands 6’5” at 220 pounds. Pivetta basically has two plus pitches in his fastball/curveball combo, but can be prone to leaving his fastball up in the zone where balls leave the yard.
Despite his high home run rate allowed, Pivetta’s peripheral numbers look quite good as he struck out 188 batters in 164 innings, and he could be due for a breakout season after posting 2.8 fWAR in 2018.
Pivetta is 4-1 against the Braves already and sports a 2.72 ERA in eight total starts against Atlanta over two seasons in the bigs.
It seems as though Pivetta’s starts last season were ultra hit-or-miss as he would have some quite good games against the Braves, but also posted two clunkers as well. Wilson is a wild card this season as he has a real shot at keeping the Rookie of the Year award in Atlanta if he is able to continue what he did in his meteoric rise to the majors in 2018.
Here’s to hoping that today’s game is at least slightly more competitive than the first. Here is your game info regarding today’s bout:
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, March 30, 3:05 p.m. ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
TV: FS1, Fox Sports Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv, fubo.tv (Includes free seven-day trial)
Radio: WCNN 680 AM / 93.7 FM, Braves Radio Network
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