Braves: Luke Jackson’s slider has again become a critical weapon

We got a taste of playoff baseball on Tuesday night as the Braves fended off its primary division foe with an exciting 2-0 win over the Phillies. The victory had it all, with the Atlanta offense stringing together key hits early, starter Charlie Morton pitching at peak form, and the bullpen putting on the finishing touches. The Braves just won perhaps the most significant game its played so far in 2021, and I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to feel confident about the team’s chances come postseason time next week. 

You know what else I’m confident about?… Luke Jackson.

In case you haven’t noticed, Jackson has become nearly unhittable this month. In fact, the opposition has barely touched him for the last couple of months now.

 

Luke Jackson (since Aug. 1)

25 G, 23.2 IP, 1.14 ERA, 31 K, 10 BB

 

The excellent performance from Jackson is obviously timely as the Braves are trying to navigate these final handful of games without spoiling its advantage in the NL East. However, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as Jackson put up similar numbers back in 2019, when he was utilized primarily as Atlanta’s closer. Two seasons ago, the then-27-year-old posted career-highs in essentially every statistical category on his way to 18 saves and a 3.84 ERA in 72.2 innings — good for a solid 1.3 fWAR. Jackson was absolutely filthy, averaging more than 13 strikeouts per nine as he tallied more punchouts in that one season than he had in the four previous ones combined. 

And this year Jackson is doing the exact same thing he did then… which is leaning heavily on his slider. 

2019 slider usage:  53.6%

2021 slider usage:  53.2%

I mean, why wouldn’t he? The offering is his best as opposing batters have hit a measly .156 against it this season and have swung and missed at a rate of 34.8%. 

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1429533277107412999?s=19

 

As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t a “new” thing, either. Back in 2019, when he was mostly handling the ninth inning for the Braves, Jackson’s slider ranked sixth among MLB relievers according to FanGraphs Pitch Value. This year, his slide piece is third on that same leaderboard, and if he qualified in terms of innings, it would rank sixth among ALL pitchers (including starters). 

Given Jackson has been here before performance-wise, it seems safe to presume that he can sustain this on into the playoffs. Hell, the guy hasn’t allowed an earned run in nine consecutive outings, and opposing batters have only managed two hits in that span. If this isn’t peak form, then I don’t know what is. 

One thing’s for sure, though, wielding a consistent arm out of the bullpen like Jackson will be critical for both the tail-end of the regular season and the upcoming postseason. One dominant pitch can’t win the Braves the World Series. But it sure as hell can help. Hopefully, Jackson keeps this up just a little while longer.