Atlanta Braves' Reynaldo López Continues Hot Start, Makes More Franchise History

Reynaldo López owns a 1.70 ERA through 14 starts this season, which has only been bested by two legendary Atlanta Braves pitchers – Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.

Jun 26, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Reynaldo López added another win to his resume on Wednesday, all while continuing his dominant start to 2024.

López took the mound in game one of the Atlanta Braves' doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 5.0 innings deep, allowing two earned runs and striking out five in what turned out to be a 6-2 win for the Braves.

Although it wasn't López's cleanest outing – he walked four batters and saw his ERA and WHIP both go up – he still sits among historic company at the midpoint of the 2024 season.

López is now 6-2 with a 1.70 ERA, 1.109 WHIP, 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.1 WAR through 14 starts. He has given up more than two earned runs just once all year, and Atlanta is 10-3 across his last 13 outings. No other qualified MLB pitcher owns an ERA under 2.00.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, López's ERA is the fourth-lowest by a Braves pitcher through their first 14 starts of a season since the WIld Card era began in 1994.

Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine share the record at 1.64, doing so in 1995 and 2002, respectively. Maddux also had a 1.69 ERA through 14 starts in 1998.

Either way, López's hot start is the best Atlanta has seen in over two decades.

Reynaldo López’s 1.70 ERA is the 4th-lowest by a Braves pitcher through the first 14 starts of a season in the Wild Card Era, behind Greg Maddux in both 1995 (1.64) and 1998 (1.69) as well as Tom Glavine in 2002 (1.64).

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López's star-making turn is made all the more impressive by the fact that he spent the previous two seasons as a reliever.

The former top prospect for the Washington Nationals showed promise with the Chicago White Sox in 2018, posting a 3.91 ERA across 32 starts, but his ERA ballooned to 5.38 in 2019 and 6.49 in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, López went 13-15 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.064 WHIP as he transitioned into the bullpen and bounced around to the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians.

Atlanta was able to land López on a three-year, $30 million contract in November.

Considering he is now one of the leading contenders to take home the NL Cy Young Award, the Braves are getting more than their money's worth with López so far this season.

Before dropping the back end of the doubleheader on Wednesday, Atlanta had won six of its last eight games. Still, the Braves have bounced back from a shaky May and now own a 3.5-game lead in the NL Wild Card race.

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