Waiting in the Wings
Going in to last year’s Rule V draft, the New York Yankees had a bit of a problem, albeit a good one. They simply had too many good minor league pitchers and relievers, and couldn’t fit them all on the 40 man. In a very shrewd move, the Atlanta Braves noticed that a certain enticing relief arm was left out in the cold.
That reliever was Anyelo Gomez. Similar to Arodys Vizcaino, Gomez was a failed starter for the Yankees and his development stalled. In 2017 the Yankees decided to finally convert him to a reliever, and the results were profound to say the least. Gomez ended up climbing four levels in the minors and decided to strike everyone out while doing so. Beginning in A ball, Anyelo Gomez struck out 14.8 per nine innings en route to a 1.93 ERA and a stingy 1.31 FIP. Gomez eventually earned a brief cameo in AAA to end the year after a 1.71 ERA and 2.22 FIP in AA.
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Anyelo Gomez follows the AJ Minter and Dan Winkler mold in that he won’t need to be platooned. This is because of an easy plus changeup that goes with a mid to high 90s fastball. He also has a breaking pitch which comes and goes, but he mainly rides the fastball/changeup combo to success. The beauty of a changeup is its intended purpose: to get opposite handed batters out.
Gomez has shown that platoons don’t bother him, based on his AA numbers which were his largest upper minors sample. He threw 18 innings against lefties, sporting a 20:4 K/BB ratio and 2.50 ERA. In 18.2 innings versus righties, Gomez struck out 23 and walked seven to go with a 0.96 ERA.
The Sleeping Dragon for the Atlanta Braves
The quartet of Vizcaino, Minter, Winkler and Gomez is going to cause the NL East nightmares, given health. When you consider what the Atlanta Braves started 2017 with, this newer, younger, better bullpen will be a relief (pun intended?). As the price for established relievers continues its meteoric rise, the Braves are staying relevant the way a mid-market team has to: drafting and growing their own.
With the emphasis on eight man bullpens and shortening games, the Braves are building toward that ideal through drafts and keen Rule V picks. When the Braves finally become competitive and attempt to make the postseason, they will have a playoff-caliber bullpen mostly constructed.
Next: Braves 2018 season preview
There are many more good relievers who may make the opening day roster who have not been mentioned here. Some of these relievers are ready now, and some are just a year or less away. For the sake of being concise, I’ll parlay those individuals into a future post. Until then, rest easy knowing the Atlanta Braves bullpen will assuredly be significantly better in 2018.