Both Young and Veteran Braves Arms Named 'Statcast Standouts' in Spring

The Atlanta Braves have a wealth of pitching talent in North Port right now. 

Just yesterday, we saw both Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton use new and old curveballs to great effect, carving up the Detroit Tigers road squad in a 3-0 Braves victory. 

But some of the newer additions to the roster - veteran Chris Sale and last year's 1st rounder, Hurston Waldrep, were singled out as "Statcast Standouts" by MLB.com. 

Chris Sale's got his groove back

For as much attention as there has been on Sale's fastball velocity being in the mid-to-upper-90s this spring, Sale's slider was the focus of MLB.com's writeup. Owing to the numerous injuries Sale has dealt with over the last few years, he lost some of the usual movement on his slider, averaging only 11 inches on movement (5% below MLB average) in 2023.

The good news is, that movement is back. Sale averaged 14.5 inches on his slider in Sunday's start, maxing out at 20 inches for a strikeout. 

The slider was still effective for Sale last year, coming in at +2 Run Value on 37% usage, but if it's moving even more (and combined with a harder fastball), that's a recipe for a rebound year. 

Hurtson Waldrep is unique

The story for Waldrep is, of course, that splitter. It's already a rare pitch (although undergoing a renaissance, to the point that this is already being called the "Year of the Splitter"), but Waldrep's is unique. 

Waldrep unveiled his against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and averaged 87.3 mph at only 574 RPMs on the pitch. 

If Waldrep was in the major leagues, that would be the lowest-spin splitter. Lower spin rate is better on a splitter, but that's the lowest in all of baseball. The only pitch that comes close, MLB explains, is Baltimore Orioles closer Félix Bautista's splitter, which averages 88.6 mph and 904 RPMs. 

Bautista, 6'8 & 285 pounds, was an All-Star and 11th-place finisher in the AL Cy Young after going 8-2 with 33 saves in his 56 relief outings for Baltimore, striking out 110 batters in his 61 innings. 

Waldrep gets significantly lower spin and similar (albeit slightly lower velocity) despite having six less inches of height and 75 pounds of weight. 

That splitter is one of the main reasons we named Waldrep our #1 prospect in the system over fellow righty AJ Smith-Shawver, although Smith-Shawver's offseason improvements have made that into a "1 and 1A" situation. 

What this all means

At the end of the day, the most important factor in pitching is to do something unique - make the ball do things that the hitter isn't expecting. 

Whether it's Spencer Strider adding a curveball, Max Fried consistently and capably mixing five pitches, or Sale and Waldrep being analytical outliers with their pitch movement, it's a recipe for continued success from the Braves pitching corps in 2024.