The Braves will hope one of their former top prospects, Joey Wentz, now a journeyman can deliver some strong innings to start the game
After a fun and very 2023 Braves style win on Friday night, Joey Wentz will take the mound for Atlanta with a chance for a series win against the formidable Yankees out of the All-Star break.
Wentz has returned to his draft organization after being traded for Shane Greene at the trade deadline in 2019 and bouncing around the league a bit. The huge lefty has essentially been a replacement-level pitcher since making his MLB debut in 2022. He still has some interesting pitches, but walks have been a huge problem for Wentz and his fastball has been hit hard. That said, he did have an impressive 3.0 inning, 6 strikeout outing for Atlanta in his return debut for the team. The Braves pretty much had him chuck a bunch of cutters and then mix in mostly fastballs and a couple curveballs from there. While that isn’t really a recipe for a major league starter, that is a pitcher who can possibly go one time through the rotation and be solid. He still struggled to find the zone, but got a ton of whiffs on his cutter. It will be interesting to see Wentz’ approach on Saturday and how many batters they try to get out of him.
The Yankees will start Will Warren on the other side, and he has the looks of a real major league starter in his young career, although walks are a weakness for him as well. He has struck out an impressive 10.75 batters per 9 innings in his young 118.0 inning career so far. Warren has found a lot of success with his four-seamer coming from a fairly low arm slot, despite it’s slightly below average velocity and shape. He has a true five pitch mix, with a sweeper, changeup, sinker, and curveball that all have pretty strong movement but have played as mediocre pitches against major league batters.
Warren is a fine pitcher, but not a world-beater and the Braves offense should be able to get to him, especially if the All-Star break jogged their memories of how to hit.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, July 19, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, FanDuel Sports Southeast, Gray TV
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan