Braves Bullpen Has Been Surprisingly Effective Closing Out Games

All season, Braves fans have been hounding the team to instigate a reunion with free agent All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, claiming that the defending NL East champs' bullpen has been in desperate need of a boost. However, the truth of the matter is that Atlanta's pen has actually been surprisingly good.

On the surface, the numbers may not back this up. The Braves rank 18th in all of baseball in bullpen ERA at 4.44. These numbers do not tell the whole story, though, as the reality is that while their middle relievers have been suspect, the back end of the bullpen has been great, as the team simply doesn't blow leads in the ninth inning.

That's a pretty surprising statistic considering intended closer Arodys Vizcaino only tossed four innings of work before being lost for the season due to an elbow issue.

Several Braves relievers have picked up the slack during Vizcaino's absence, but none more than right hander Luke Jackson, who's having a breakout season due to a much improved strikeout-to-walk ratio, a ground ball rate that has risen by 20 percentage points from last season, and a sparkling 2.05 ERA.

Are there problems in earlier innings that need to be addressed? Sure. But the closer situation isn't as glaring as the alarmists might want to suggest.

Sure, any team would benefit from having a closer of Kimbrel's caliber, but the need for him has certainly been greatly exaggerated, to say nothing of how daunting his price tag would be. If Atlanta rolls with what they have at the back end the rest of the season and instead find a way to add a some middle-inning help, they'll be in a fine position to keep pace in the NL East race.