Jesse just passed the 60-day mark for being in the major leagues. You can check out his stats on his MLB page. In brief he’s pitched 28 innings, struck out 30 batters, and has an ERA of 2.54. Those are good numbers for a rookie.
Those of us who follow Jesse and the Atlanta Braves have had quite a ride since he got called up on April 18. As they say, sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear completely shreds your body, soul, and mind. If you start your career out with an errant home run call by an ump against you at a crux moment in a game against the Mets, you have probably already learned the most important lesson there is in baseball: Shit happens … and usually at least one umpire is involved.
Since that first game — which was amazing and incredible and Jesse got his first win — he’s had more than a few tough luck innings. He’s walked guys in key situations, given up home runs to big time clutch hitters, allowed inherited runners to score, and even had a few very short appearances where his pitching command didn’t show up when he needed it most. There’s nothing like being a relief pitcher in the major leagues.
But he’s also had extraordinary relief moments getting out of bases loaded jams without allowing a run, pitching for extended periods in extra innings without allowing a single baserunner, and inducing several double plays to end innings at key moments. One highlight of this rookie year so far was facing his old team the Philadelphia Phillies and striking out five (mostly good friends) over two innings, along with knifing a double down the left field line for his first career major league hit and driving in Kurt Suzuki for his first major league RBI. There’s nothing like being a relief pitcher in the major leagues.
Tri-Level Bullpen: Fans –> Visiting Braves –> Home Phillies; April 29, 2018
Today, June 28, the Braves arrived in St. Louis for a weekend series against the Cardinals. After that they head to New York for a 4th of July Week series with the Yankees. Then they cruise back across the country for a weekend competing against the Brewers in Milwaukee. They return home for a week-long home stand on July 9 and then get some time off for the mid-season All-Star break. There’s still plenty of baseball to be played here in 2018 and it seems like Jesse’s gotten through the early days of being a rookie pretty well. He’ll still struggle some — no player gets around that — but from what we’ve seen, he’s still developing into the pitcher many of us knew he was going to become. There will be tough and frustrating outings. There will also be amazing games — and hopefully there will be your straight yeoman’s work, too: come in, throw 15 – 18 pitches, maybe give up a hit or two, but no runs, no walks, and no anxious coaches in the dugout. Having seven high-quality fielders behind you and a seasoned, intelligent catcher should always mean no drama and no bad luck.
As the season spins forward and the Braves continue to battle for a playoff spot, it’s going to be fun to watch the whole team step up their games. They seem to be in a bit of a lull right now. I think this extended road trip against quality competition like the Cardinals, Yankees, and Brewers may well set the team on fire again.
For the most part the Braves are super young but super talented. They’ve also got great veteran leadership in Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, Brandon McCarthy, Kurt Suzuki, Tyler Flowers, Peter Moylan, and Julio Teheran. It’s all about staying healthy, especially as the season rolls into September and October.
You’ll find a couple more videos from MLB on the “Video Links” page of this website. We’ll report occasionally now for the rest of the season, but if you really want to track what’s going on with Jesse Biddle and the Braves, you can follow them using the MLB.com app At Bat (there is a $19.99 fee for this). Or, if you don’t live in the Atlanta viewing area, you can be hardcore like many of us are and subscribe to MLB.TV where you can catch every MLB game every day for the rest of the season — especially the Atlanta Braves. You can even give MLB.TV as a present to loved ones and baseball junkies.
See the MLB Video below.