Critical bullpen piece nearing return from injury

Over the weekend, hard-throwing Daysbel Hernandez began his rehab assignment in Gwinnett after being placed on the IL with forearm tightness. He made his first appearance for the Stripers on Sunday, tossing a scoreless inning in which he needed just 12 pitches, three of which were fastballs that eclipsed 100 MPH.

Hernandez served as the Braves primary set up man for the first couple months of the season, recording a more than respectable 2.22 ERA. He did struggle with walks, issuing 7.4 free passes per nine innings before the injury, but he seemingly always figured out a way to get out of jams in high leverage situations.

His absence left an already thin Braves bullpen even more short-handed. While the group has managed to hold things together for the most part, it’s far from a strength of the team. Fortunately, Hernández’s return could help solidify the back end of the bullpen, and based on Sunday’s performance, it shouldn’t be long before he rejoins the big-league club.