Could the Braves use tag team starting pitchers?
We are already hearing that when baseball returns, we could see the game change a bit. Seven-inning doubleheaders. Extra-inning changes. Empty stadiums.
With the shortened season, teams will be looking for innovative ways to win. So, let’s coin another term that could help the Atlanta Braves have a distinct advantage over their rivals.
Tag team starting pitching.
Now, first let’s admit that we always know it takes more than five starting pitchers to go through the course of a full, 162-game season. But we’re not going to have a 162-game season this year. We might be lucky if we have a 100-game season, or even an 80-game season.
With the depth the Atlanta Braves have in its rotation, think about the possibilities. They have three pitchers set to lead the starting staff: Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz. Obviously, the Braves need Foltynewicz to pitch like he did after he returned from Gwinnett in August when he had a 2.65 ERA in his last 10 starts of the season.
Then there’s Cole Hamels, who was slowed in the Grapefruit League by a shoulder issue. The hope was Hamels would be back by June. Well, now that the season might start sometime in June, Hamels might be ready to start the season.
In his absence in Florida, both Sean Newcomb and Felix Hernandez were outstanding in the Grapefruit League. Originally, Newcomb and Hernandez were expected to battle for the fifth starter’s job, but then when Hamels went down both had a great chance to start the year in the rotation in the final two spots.
One thing the Braves perhaps didn’t expect was the great work of Kyle Wright, who had a 2.03 ERA in his four spring training appearances. Wright admitted that a mechanical change with his left leg in his delivery made a difference in his command, and that might be the one thing that could put the tall right-hander over the hump and into a rotation.
So, that’s seven starting pitchers if Hamels is healthy. You’d hope that even with the delay, Hernandez would be able to get back on track and pitch as well as he did in March. He and Newcomb both showed they deserved to be in the starting five.
What if the Braves tried to save Hamels and Hernandez by piggybacking them in the rotation? What if Hamels, a left-hander, was paired with Wright, a right-hander, and then what if Newcomb, a southpaw, was slotted with Hernandez, who pitches right-handed?
If Hamels and Hernandez went only four innings in their starts, and consequently were fresher later in the season, could the Braves benefit from that setup? Having Hamels, who doesn’t throw as hard as he used to, replaced by a hard-throwing right-hander in Wright might be tougher for opponents.
Wright has made 25 starts in Triple-A the last two seasons, so especially with his mechanical change, he might not need to go back to the minor leagues. He might be ready.
And if the soft-tossing Hernandez is replaced by Newcomb, who has a fastball in the mid-90s, that might be equally difficult for other teams.
Don’t forget about the others. The Braves still have Touki Toussaint, who made a case for himself as well in spring training with a 2.08 ERA in three games. Plus, Bryse Wilson, Tucker Davidson and Ian Anderson will all likely start the season in Triple-A Gwinnett.
The rosters are expected to be expanded whenever the season stars. Talk has it being at 29, three above the limit for 2020. Remember, we were already going to have one extra player this year. But if there are 28 or 29 players on a roster, it could allow a team to do something like piggybacking, or tag teaming starting pitchers.
If those seven pitchers were starting, just think of how that would also help the bullpen, which is already considering one of the best in baseball (at least on paper). The relievers would also be fresher if we knew that in two of every five starts we’re going to see starting pitchers – even two at a time – combine for seven or eight innings.
Atlanta’s depth is the key. Teams will be trying to figure out how to have an advantage in what will be a very different baseball season. And the ability for the Braves to keep their pitchers fresh into October and even November could be accomplished by utilizing that depth in piggybacking, or tag team starting pitching, situations.
Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on Middle Georgia’s ESPN. You can listen online at TheSuperStations.com. Follow Bill on Twitter at @billshanks and you can email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.