Yesterday, Kyle Wright made his third rehab assignment on the farm. It was his second with AAA Gwinnett after getting roughed up a bit his last time out with the Stripers.
This time, however, Wright looked a lot more like the guy that was a 21-game winner for the Braves a year ago. He tossed 3.2 scoreless, allowing just one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Kyle Wright (@Braves) was DEALING in his second rehab start for @GoStripers.
3 2/3 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 7 K pic.twitter.com/wR4FN3mhGO
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 6, 2023
It was never fair to overreact to what Wright did in his first start with the Stripers. It is going to be a process to get him back before the postseason, and there are going to be plenty of bumps in the road, but yesterday was a very encouraging sign from the Vandy product.
Wright had much better command in his third rehab assignment and was able to avoid hard contact. Most notably, both of his breaking pitches were working, leading to a lot of swings and misses. He would finish the night on 50 pitches, another encouraging sign for those hoping he can make an impact this season.
The Braves have understandably taken a conservative approach to ramping up Wright’s workload. As much as everyone wants him back before the playoffs, this is about much more than just this season. I would expect him to throw in the 60-70 pitch range next week, and after that, it’s not ridiculous to think the Braves give him an opportunity in Atlanta. He will still be on a pitch count, but it’s vital that he gets some work against major-league opponents a few times if he wants to be included on the postseason roster in some capacity.
I still think it’s more likely that we see Kyle Wright in the NLCS than the NLDS. However, if he keeps looking like he did on Wednesday, it wouldn’t be crazy to see him in both.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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