No one saw this one coming but Huascar Ynoa is the best pitcher in the Atlanta Braves starting rotation.
Find you a pitcher that can do both...
◾️ 7 innings, 1 unearned run
◾️ Grand slam#ForTheA
pic.twitter.com/q0I4eWqczX
— Wendy Adams (@wendyradio) May 5, 2021
Ynoa is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched. What's more is his contribution on offense. At the plate, he's 6-for-15 for the season with a .400 average, 6 RBIs and 2 home runs (including one grand slam).
Paul Byrd, who covers the Braves for Bally Sports South, said Ynoa is already at 'ace' status.
"Right now, he's as good as anybody--I want to say Jacob deGrom is on another planet--but he is an ace right now," Byrd said.
"He's started to string together multiple starts where he knows what he's doing now...He's not just a young kid going out there throwing fuel trying to figure it out. Like, he's pitching. And so there's no reason in my mind why this can't continue for a long, long time. He's reached that position, for me, where I expect that now...so, I think he's in that category."
With that said, is it too soon for Ynoa to be receiving All-Star consideration?
"The stats show that he's right there," Joe Patrick, who covers the Braves for 92.9 The Game, said.
"It's so impressive, what he's done...who knows what he could even develop into years down the line but, I think even right now, he's showing that he is a bonafide, legit--I don't know if he's exactly going to continue doing right now in terms of where his number's are--I think he's absolutely going to be a guy who, if the Braves make the playoffs, not only is he going to be a big reason why but I think he's going to probably be a guy who you want starting in the playoffs for you if you get there."
