On June 12th, 2017, every fan across Braves country could pretty much agree on one thing — Atlanta selected a future superstar fifth overall. Kyle Wright had an impressive career at Vanderbilt, a baseball blueblood, and he was expected to be a key piece of Atlanta’s rotation for the future. So far, that just hasn’t happened.
I’m not sure if it’s coaching, confidence, or Wright just doesn’t have the command to make things work in the majors, but the Braves obviously haven’t gotten through to him (I think it’s a combination of the three). You can’t deny that Wright has unbelievable raw talent; the 6’4 righty has a solid five pitch mix and looks the part of an MLB ace. However, Wright’s last outing was more of what he has been most of the time as a professional — wildly inconsistent.
Kyle Wright lasted 2 innings, threw 29 strikes in 55 pitches, and allowed 4 hits, 5 runs (all earned) and 3 walks with 1 strikeout and 1 wild pitch. It was very bad.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 24, 2021
When I spoke about Wright’s confidence, he understandably sounded very frustrated after the game as well.
#Braves' Kyle Wright: “I never really had anything going from the get-go. The only pitch I had OK was my curveball, but even then I tried to do a little too much with it. Fastball command was really bad. And then the slider kind of flattened out and…yeah, it wasn’t very good.”
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 24, 2021
That doesn’t sound like a guy who thinks he’s going to turn things around, and it’s a shame, because I truly think he still can. Wright is only 25-years-old, but something has to change with him. I don’t know if he isn’t responding to coaching, if the coaching isn’t adequate, or if he just doesn’t have it — but maybe it’s time for a change of scenery.
I thought he was going to turn a corner after a strong end to 2020 (outside of a terrible NLCS game against the Dodgers), but it hasn’t carried over to 2021. Wright boasts a 9.95 ERA this season, and his career line of 2-7 with a 6.56 ERA over 21 starts hardly lives up to his billing of a top-five draft pick. I still have faith in Wright, but his time is running out in Atlanta.
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