Is Braves Reliever Raisel Iglesias Returning to Form?

Things haven't gone as hoped for the Atlanta Braves this season in a lot of different ways. But the team has shown enough flashes of good play that the assumption is the roster's talent is eventually going to take over and help the team go on a run.

One player the Braves need to do that is relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias. The right-hander experienced an historic 2024 season, but this year, Iglesias owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 28 appearances.

Over his last three outings, though, Iglesias has been nine up and nine down. On Tuesday versus the New York Mets, he retired three consecutive batters with a runner on second base in the 10th inning.

That runner didn't advance.

Is Iglesias back? Well, there's tea leaves that he's pitching better, but it's too early to say Iglesias is returning to his 2024 form.

During the 10th inning Tuesday, Iglesias' best at-bat was probably the first one versus Mets designated hitter Jared Young. After leaving a slider close to the middle of the plate, Iglesias buried two change-ups near the dirt. Young swung at both and struck out.

Inducing a strikeout in that situation is key with the runner on second base to open extra innings. With the punchout, the Braves greatly increased their odds of not giving up a run in the frame.

In the second at-bat versus catcher Francisco Alvarez, Iglesias induced a pop up with his change-up on the third pitch of the sequence. Then in the third at-bat, Iglesias forced another pop up versus third baseman Ronny Mauricio.

Those were the positives. The negatives were Iglesias may have been a little fortunate Alvarez and Mauricio only popped up. Iglesias left the change-up to Alvarez and a four-seam fastball to Mauricio over the middle of the plate. Both Mets hitters made poor contact on their swings.

That happens all the time in the MLB. Pitchers can miss location but still beat a hitter if the pitch is delivered in the right sequence or with enough velocity.

In the Alvarez at-bat, Iglesias kept the catcher off-balanced alternating fastballs and change-ups. Mauricio may have missed the fastball because he was expecting a change-up after a first-pitch sinker to begin the at-bat.

If that's what Iglesias has to do to record outs, the Braves will take it. Anything to get Iglesias going to help the backend of Atlanta's bullpen.

His scoreless 10th inning will be a footnote to many other events that led to Atlanta's comeback versus New York on Tuesday. But it was tremendously key, especially with the frame beginning with a runner on base.

But Iglesias still has work to do. After his first-pitch slider to Young, the right-hander didn't throw that pitch again Tuesday. He clearly doesn't have confidence in it. And Iglesias' fastball is still slower than it was a year ago.

On Tuesday, Iglesias didn't have a fastball reach 95 mph. Last season, he averaged 95.5 with his fastball.

In all likelihood, Iglesias isn't going to return to his 2024 form. It probably was always unrealistic to expect he would. What the Braves need from the reliever is more reliability than he's shown through nearly the first half of 2025.

Iglesias may be heading in that direction. But the issues that have plagued him this season still appear to remain.