Player Review: The Elder Statesman, Bryce Elder

Bryce Elder was a pleasant surprise for the Braves last season.

Bryce Elder's stats

Majors: 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA. He pitched 174 innings and struck out 128 hitters while walking 63.

Grading Bryce Elder's pitching performance last season

Pitching: B

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

I am actually going to break this one down into two halves. Bryce Elder before the All-Star break and Bryce after the All-Star break.

Bryce before the All-Star break gets an A+. Before we entered the All-Star break this season, Elder had a 7-2 record with a 2.97 ERA. He was not only one of the best pitchers in the National League, he was one of the best pitchers in the MLB. Hence he was selected as an All-Star. He had 80 strikeouts and walked 34 batters and opposing hitters had a .237 batting average against him.

After the All-Star break, Bryce gets a C. He had a 5-2 record with a 5.11 ERA after the All-Star break. His strikeout numbers dipped down to just 48 and he walked 29 hitters. Opposing hitters hit .257 against him as Elder saw his groundout/assisted out rate drop from 1.66 to 1.16. In 38 fewer innings than what he had before the All-Star break, he gave up 7 more runs.

I believe that has to do with teams being able to see him pitch more and getting a read on what Elder likes to do. The more you watch film and study a guy, the better you will know how to prepare for him.

Bryce Elder's contract status

Elder is in the same situation where he is in Pre-Arb for the next two years before he becomes arbitration-eligible. Elder earned $720,000 with the Braves in 2023.

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