Dylan Lee’s return to form lengthens Atlanta’s bullpen.
The left-handed reliever has been putting up numbers in 2024 that are almost identical to his outstanding 2022 season.
There’s no doubt that the 2024 Atlanta Braves have not met the lofty expectations many pundits and fans cast upon them prior to the start of the regular season. The team’s offensive output has been most at-fault as the team’s pitching staff has excelled.
It hasn’t been just the starting pitching that has exceeded expectation midway through the ‘24 campaign. The team’s bullpen – an area of focus by the front office this prior off-season -has also been exceptional. Of relievers to make 10 or more appearances out of the bullpen (this excludes Ray Kerr due to his two starts), only the injured Tyler Matzek has an ERA of 4.00 or higher through July 3, 2024.
As a matter of fact, only two members of the bullpen have an ERA between 3.00 and 4.00 – Aaron Bummer and Pierce Johnson.
(Before you go and get mad in the comments about using ERA in the above paragraphs, the use of ERA is purely a reference point for conversation, not the use of the stat as anything more.)
From closer Raisel Iglesias to the ageless Jesse Chavez, the team’s bullpen has been a strength. Seven pitchers have seen action in 26 or more games: Iglesias, Chavez, Bummer, Johnson, Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter and Dylan Lee.
Of those seven, the left-handed Lee has probably toiled in the most anonymity, working mainly in low-to-mid-leverage situations. While he isn’t the last man in the bullpen, the team’s ability to leverage him early in games has been underappreciated based on his results.
Atlanta Braves v Baltimore Orioles
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
If you are a visual person, check out his Baseball Savant page, where you can see that he is in the 99th percentile in Chase % and in the 97th percentile in Whiff %. Both his slider and changeup have been positive pitches for him this season, but it has been his slider that has been his meal-ticket pitch since arriving in Atlanta late in the 2021 season. This season he’s been using it 51-percent of the time.
If you’ve followed the Braves closely, you likely recall that Lee was summoned to Atlanta in the final days of the 2021 regular season after a break-out year at Triple-A. Lee, who signed with Atlanta in April after being released by the Miami Marlins, made history when he made his first major league start in the 2021 World Series.
