Bryce Elder Turns In Back-to-Back Quality Starts, But Doubts Linger

After his brutal start to the season, the righty had his best outing yet on April 23 against St. Louis. The start began by looking like more of the same struggles, as Elder walked two batters in the first inning before allowing an RBI double to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard. Elder was aware of his shortcomings, referring to his first inning as “atrocious.”

Elder found his rhythm following the first inning. He went on to toss 5.0 scoreless frames, completing 6.0 innings for the second time this season. He allowed five hits and three walks against St. Louis while notching two strikeouts.

Braves general manager Brian Snitker highlighted Elder’s impact on the series-finale win over the Cardinals.

“He regrouped and was really efficient to go through six,” Snitker said. “...That was huge.”

Elder aimed to prove his start against St. Louis wasn’t a fluke when he took the mound again in Monday’s series opener against the Rockies. The 25 year old picked up his first win of the season as he threw 6.0 innings in a second straight outing. Elder allowed three runs, but they all came in the first inning via a Hunter Goodman three-run homer. Like against St. Louis, the righty then threw 5.0 scoreless frames. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out a season-high-tying four batters.

Things worked out for Elder as he tossed his second consecutive quality start. However, it’s important to note that the Rockies currently have the worst win percentage in MLB at .143. The Cardinals have found more success but still come up short of a .500 win percentage at .414. It’s unclear if Elder will continue to keep up on the mound, especially against tougher competition.

Elder’s velocity is nothing special. He throws his four-seam fastball an average of 91.7 mph as compared to a 94.5 mph average for right handed pitchers. The righty’s only pitch that is above average velocity is his changeup, which comes in at 86.4 mph, barely above the 86.3 mph average.

The Braves starter is striking out just 13.7% of the batters he faces, which is a career low and ranks in the bottom 7% of MLB pitchers. His pitching run value, off-speed run value, fastball velocity, whiff percentage and extension all also rank in the bottom 10% of Major League arms.

Many fans have argued that Elder doesn’t have the making of a Major League pitcher, regardless of his success in his past two starts. Elder will likely start for the Braves at some point this weekend when they host the Dodgers and will look to further prove himself as a valuable contributor to Atlanta’s rotation.