It’s September 1, the day that major league baseball oddly changes the roster rules that teams have been operating under all season and allow them to add players from the entire 40-man roster to the major league active roster.
For the Braves, that means adding six players for now. Most are guys that have been with the major league squad before like right-handers Bryse Wilson and Touki Toussaint and outfielder Michael Reed. Another was a return for old friend Lane Adams, who returns to Atlanta after being designated for assignment back April, going to play for the Cubs organization, being released, then being picked back up by the Braves and playing in Gwinnett for the last month.
Another is injured right-hander Shane Carle, fresh off the disabled list, and catcher Rene Rivera who was activated after being claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. But the focus of this piece is the big righty who will be making his major league debut at some point this month, Kyle Wright.
The Player
Kyle Wright, RHP
Age: 22
OFR Prospect Rank: 2
2018 Level: AAA Gwinnett
The Results
2018: 3.46 ERA | 2.98 FIP | 24 G, 21 GS | 138 IP | 8.67 K/9 | 3.33 BB/9
Minor League Career: 3.37 ERA | 3.22 FIP | 33 G, 30 GS | 155 IP | 8.77 K/9 | 3.31 BB/9
The History
Rated by many as the top college pitcher in the 2017 draft, the Braves giddily selected Wright out of Vanderbilt with the 6th overall selection. As a junior, Wright struck out 121 batters in 103.1 innings with a 3.40 ERA, leading Vandy on a run to the Super Regionals. The Braves used Wright sparingly after the draft due to the heavy college workload, and he didn’t make his pro debut until July 17, 2017 with the GCL Braves. Wright didn’t pitch more than two innings an appearance for the entire year, even after transferring up to advanced-A Florida in August 2017.
All the restrictions were off after 2018, and Wright started the season with the AA Mississippi Braves. Wright demonstrated dominating stuff at times, and also showed sporadic command and control issues from much of the first several months of the season. The former was on full display on June 26 when Wright set a Mississippi record with 13 strikeouts in a game. Wright was named to the All-Star Futures Game and made an appearance in relief, coming into the game with runners on the corners and no one out; Wright got out of the inning without a run scoring by inducing an infield pop-up and a double-play grounder. Wright got good results all through July, pitching to a 2.33 ERA, but more importantly only walking 7 batters in 27 innings.
This prompted the Braves to promote Wright to AAA Gwinnett in August. Wright continued his good work in four starts with the Stripers, striking 25 and walking 8 in 25.1 innings, and holding International League hitters to a .146/.222/.247 batting line. On August 25, Wright was moved to the bullpen with the idea of an eventual Atlanta promotion. In three relief appearances with Gwinnett, Wright allowed two hits and no runs in 3 innings.
The Report
Wright is 6′-4″ and 200 pounds, a solid base that he uses to get good extension. What separated Wright from the other college pitchers in last year’s draft class is the advanced feel he has on all of his pitches. Wright’s fastball typically sits in the mid-90s with good movement, but he can also rear back and push it to the upper ’90s as needed. Wright has two breaking balls, a curve and a slider, both of which he can work down and on the edges for strikes. The slider is ahead of the curve at this point, a power slider that typically dives into left-handers and generates most of the swing-and-miss. Wright also has a change-up that can be devastating when he’s able to locate it, but those days are still infrequent enough that it should be considered a fourth pitch.
What’s Next
For now, Wright will get his first taste of the major leagues out of the Braves bullpen, picking up innings and getting his feet wet in anticipation of having an expanded role with the club in 2019.
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