The Braves have their organizational seventh starter facing off against Giants’ ace Logan Webb
Desperately needing to stack wins, the Braves have their organizational seventh starter in Bryce Elder facing off against Giants’ ace Logan Webb.
Elder has been serviceable this season, pitching at exactly replacement level per fWAR over about 50 innings. That fits his performance from last season as well. His vertical slider has been quite effective and he is throwing it more than any other pitch, but his lower 90s sinker has not been located particularly well and has been hit pretty hard, while the four-seamer and changeup he mixes in are pretty tame pitches. He can give you non-catastrophic innings by avoiding too many walks and inducing ground balls. That’s a great guy to have waiting in AAA for a situation just like the Braves have found themselves in, with two starting pitchers out for the year, but not a guy you want in your major league rotation. That just seems like who he is at this point, and it’ll probably earn him a good few million in his career.
Logan Webb, on the other side, is a certified stud. His lowest inning total since 2021 is 148.1 and his highest xFIP has been 3.31. He’s essentially the star version of Bryce Elder, working primarily off a sinker and sweeper (the sinker has really impressive movement, despite relatively low velocity), with a changeup, cutter, and four seamer mixed in. He lives off a ~60% ground ball rate and keeps walks to around 2 batters per 9 innings. This year, his strikeouts have spiked up to around 10 K/9 through 81.1 innings, but we’ve seen him be highly successful for years floating around 8 K/9. He’s simply a consistent and highly effective work horse for San Francisco.
The Braves’ offense will have their work cut out for them Saturday, as the team is in a dire spot and has to go on a run here to get back in the playoff hunt.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, June 7, 4:05 p.m. EDT
Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast, MLB Network (out of market)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan