The first two months of the season could not have possibly gone any worse for Atlanta Braves relief pitcher, A.J. Minter. Minter was 1-3 with a 9.26 ERA in April as he gave up 12 runs in only 11.2 innings pitched. May got a little better, but it was still bad. Minter went 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA as he gave up seven runs in 13 innings.
Those kinds of numbers aren't going to get the job done if you want to win the World Series. Especially when those numbers are coming from one of the guys in the bullpen that you trust the most. When the calendar rolled around into June, it was clear that something had to give for Minter.
A.J. got back to his usual self in June. He finished with a 1-0 record and a 2.25 ERA as he only allowed three runs in 12 innings. It's not perfect, but we can work with that. It was a change in the right direction that gave us home for the postseason.
Let's fast forward now to July and August. Minter has gotten even better in the past two months. Minter has appeared in 16 games over the past two months. During those 16 games, he has a 0-0 record with a 1.36 ERA. That number would have been even lower had he not given up a run to the San Francisco Giants yesterday afternoon, but again, he is not perfect.
The return of Raisel Iglesias as closer combined with Minter's progression through the season has to be a great sight for Brian Snitker, Rick Kranitz, and Braves fans all across the globe.
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