Tyler Kinley: A Tale of Two Seasons
Due to multiple big adjustments, new Braves reliever Tyler Kinley is fitting in quite well in the backend of the Braves bullpen
In 2023, the Atlanta Braves struck “reliever gold” by acquiring Pierce Johnson at the trade deadline. Coming over with a 6.00 ERA in 39 innings, Braves fans wondered, “Why in the world?” However, GM Alex Anthopolous saw something. After coming over from Colorado, Johnson posted a 0.76 ERA in 23.2 innings thanks to some significant changes, most notably a heavy increase in his curveball usage. This was good enough to earn him a two-year, $14M dollar extension after the season.
Fast forward to 2025. The Braves are at the deadline and not set on buying. BUT, Alex Anthopolous is “always trying to improve the roster,” even when least expected. This he did through way of right-hander Tyler Kinley.
Under-the-Radar Acquisition
Kinley was acquired on July 30 for minor league pitcher Austin Smith. The trade was lost in the midst of the deals being made around the league. And, for the most part, Braves fans skimmed over the deal in the middle of their anger of not trading closer Raisel Iglesias and/or DH Marcell Ozuna. Or, maybe they just weren’t excited to add an aging reliever with relatively bad numbers.
The right-hander came to Atlanta with a 5.66 ERA in 47.2 innings, including 27 walks. The surface numbers were bad. Nobody is denying that. But, clearly, Anthopolous saw something in the thirty-four-year-old and took a chance on him. And since being acquired? Kinley has posted a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 innings.
With a $5M dollar club option, he could certainly be an option for an Atlanta bullpen that looks to rebound after a subpar 2025 campaign.
Let’s dive in.
Offseason Adjustments
Over the course of the offseason, a focus for Kinley seemed to be more bite on the slider. So to do this, he started throwing it softer and immediately saw results in more downward movement. Bud Black even stated in a Spring Training interview that Kinley was mostly known “as a two pitch guy; a hard fastball and hard slider” and that he had been “playing with different grips over the offseason.”
Kinley seemed to have done just this. In 2024, he was throwing the slider at 89.5 mph, with just 28.5 inches of downward movement. Fast forward to 2025, the righty is throwing it over two mph slower at 87.3 mph. The result? 33 inches of downward movement w/ gravity! The shape of a curveball with the velocity of a slider.
This has certainly helped the Stuff+ grades, but pre-trade, the results still weren’t showing. Until… he met Rick Kranitz.
A Rick Kranitz, Revamped Repertoire
So, we’ve touched on the significantly better ERA. But, there’s more to the success than is seen on the surface. Is this just because you took him out of Coors Field? Sure, that probably helps, but there’s another clear reason.
The reason seems to be very simple; one that is a Rick Kranitz staple. It’s (mostly) pitch usage. Before arriving in Atlanta, Tyler Kinley threw his best pitch, his slider, 60% of the time. But in his time with the Braves pitching coach, and while it is a lot smaller of a sample size, this usage has spiked to 75%. As a result of the slider usage going up, the fastball and curveball percentages have dropped. The four-seamer has gone down from 26.3% to 17.1% and the curveball percentage has gone from 12.3% to 7.4%. He seems to have cut the change-up out completely.
The same thing happened with Pierce Johnson. In 2023, he was throwing his curveball 50% of the time. However, after landing in Atlanta, he finished the season throwing it 75% of the time.
BUT, not only is the Kinley slider being thrown more, it’s being thrown more effectively.
And the Results are…
Since being traded to the Atlanta Braves, Kinley has been the best arm in that bullpen. We have touched on the ERA boost, but what is most impressive is the opponent batting average.
While in Colorado, the opponent batting average against Kinley was .227. Coors Field, with the high altitude and big outfield, certainly doesn’t help the numbers, but since coming to the Braves? A whopping .154 opponent batting average. That’s just six hits allowed. While the walks still may be a problem, five in 10.2 innings, they’re not coming around to score.
With just a $5M dollar club option, you have to think that this is something the Braves will pick up. You also throw in a full offseason and full Spring Training with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and you definitely think these numbers could improve even further. Kinley and his slider certainly would add great depth to a 2025 Braves bullpen that looks to rebound from a down 2024 season.