Pitching Ninja approves key Braves offseason acquisition

admin | April 23, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

The Braves’ bullpen could end up being legitimately amazing if this reliever can keep stealing souls like this in 2024.

While the Atlanta Braves’ trades for Chris Sale and Jarred Kelenic this offseason have received all of the attention, the Braves had to reduce their 40-man roster in order to accomplish those transactions. When Atlanta acquired Aaron Bummer, they traded five players, including fan favorite Michael Soroka, to the White Sox.

Bummer is an intriguing arm because, while his 6.79 ERA in 2023 in Chicago was very nasty, his numbers prior to that were quite strong, and his peripherals from 2023 indicate to a fair degree of bad luck and crummy fielding behind him, which certainly matches because the White Sox were and are genuinely dreadful. Arguably more importantly, the move provided the Braves with roster clarity and allowed them to maneuver to acquire Kelenic, among other players.

So far, Bummer’s time with the Braves has been hit or miss. He presently has a 5.87 ERA after nine appearances, however his figures are distorted by a few of terrible performances. Bummer’s walk rate is down, which is wonderful; however, his strikeout rate is also down, which is less so. He did, however, demonstrate his ability to get some foolish swings, one of which received the praise of a well-known pitching analyst.

Aaron Bummer, Bohemian Rhapsody Sweeper. ☠️⚰️🪦 pic.twitter.com/f9Rt41gi1L

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 22, 2024

Aaron Bummer taking Taveras’ soul got him featured by Pitching Ninja

To begin, we need to take a moment to appreciate this swing and miss. During the slow motion replay, you can pinpoint the moment around the 11-second mark when Leody Taveras realizes he has made a terrible mistake by starting to swing; he tries to recover and ends up spinning out of his shoes and sitting on home plate. Pure performance art.

This also demonstrates how effective Pitching Ninja is at emphasizing particular pitching moments in games. Not only are his overlays and analysis informative and useful in understanding why some individuals are so filthy, but he is also entertaining. Terms like “sword” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” are making their way into the baseball vernacular, and he is a major contributor. A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Friedman.

While Bummer has maintained his elite ability to keep the ball on the ground and miss barrels in 2024, we haven’t seen him miss bats like he did previously. If he continues to do what he did to Taveras, the best is yet to come for Bummer.