There have been many questions about who will be the Braves fifth starter to begin the season. However, with Felix Hernandez opting out, and Cole Hamels still not recovered from injury, general manager Alex Anthopoulos called the job Kyle Wright’s to lose, according to Kelly Crull — the new field reporter for the Braves Fox Sports broadcasts.Â
#Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos says the team's final rotation spot is Kyle Wright's "job to lose," @Kelly_Crull reports. pic.twitter.com/mNkJMundRI
— FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) July 22, 2020
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Wright earned one of the starting roles out of camp last year, but it wasn’t long before the 2017 fifth overall selection was back in Gwinnett. In seven appearances (4 starts) for the Braves, he made it through just 19.2 innings and posted a gaudy 8.69 ERA.
The hiccups continued after being demoted to AAA. However, by the end of the year, Wright looked much more like the pitcher the Braves hoped they were getting at the beginning of the season. He finished the 2019 campaign with an 11-4 record and a 4.17 ERA for the Stripers, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, as he only allowed more than three earned runs once in his last ten starts.Â
Wright’s pitched with a lot of confidence in Spring Training thus far and can lock up his spot in the rotation with a quality start in the Braves final exhibition game against the Marlins. That game is going on now, and he completed 3.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs. However, even if he does start the year in the rotation, the Braves will likely have a short leash with him. In a 60-game season, there is not a lot of room for error, and Atlanta has several other starting options they can turn to, including Jhoulys Chacin, who they signed yesterday.Â
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