What is the best way to describe what Kirby Yates has done for the Atlanta Braves this season? Winning. Yates has a 7-0 record (the best record of his career) with a 2.81 ERA in 48 games this season for the Braves. He has the best record of the Braves bullpen and the fourth most wins on the team. Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, and Bryce Elder are the only pitchers with more wins than him.
He had a couple of rough months during the first half of the season as he had a 4.19 ERA in March/April and a 5.19 ERA in July. Most of the runs scored against him in July were before the All-Star break. For the first half of the season, Yates was 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA. Since the All-Star break, he has turned up the heat. In the second half of the season, Yates is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He has only given up three runs in 15 innings of work during the second half.
This is the Kirby Yates wanted to see when they signed him to a two-year contract starting in 2022. The Braves wanted to see the guy that had a 2.14 ERA in 2018 and a 1.19 ERA in 2019 for the San Diego Padres. Alex Anthopoulos took a bet on Yates after he had Tommy John Surgery in hopes that he could find that magic again.
It seems as though he has pulled a Toby Keith. He "ain't as good as he once was, but he's as good once, as he ever was."
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