How This Former Atlanta Braves Pitcher Saved His Career

Michael Soroka quickly won over Atlanta Braves fans with his dominant rookie campaign in 2019. Unfortunately, that streak of dominance was cut short way too soon when Soroka tore his Achilles tendon during the 2020 season.

The young Canadian then suffered a long series of devastating injuries. The road back was long and difficult, but Braves fans finally saw the young right-hander return to the mound last year in Oakland. However, Soroka was not the same as before, and his 6.40 ERA during the 2023 season, he was unable to relocate to Atlanta.

And so the 26-year-old Canadian experienced a change. Soroka was part of a six-player deal that sent him to Chicago to play for the rebuilding White Sox. It was thought that a change of scenery was needed for Soroka, and something that could perhaps get him back to being the pitcher he once was.

Unfortunately, it was only more adversity for Soroka as he was often hit hard in his starts to begin 2024. Soroka received the ball nine times as a starter to begin the year, and he allowed a horrendous score. .251/.347/.509 He finished with a 6.39 ERA. However, a role change might have been the change needed to keep Michael Soroka in the major leagues.

On May 18, against the New York Yankees, Soroka made his first appearance in the bullpen for the Chicago White Sox. That day, he would pitch four innings of seven strikeout baseball games. Since that day, Soroka has made eight more relief appearances.

Five of those bullpen outings were multi-inning outings. And while not every outing was perfect, the numbers show that Michael Soroka’s move to the bullpen has made him a different pitcher.

As a reliever, Soroka cut that horrible slant line mentioned earlier to .200/.333/.307. His ERA as a reliever dropped to 3.54. Soroka also saw his FIP (6.75 as a starter to 3.35 as a reliever) and wOBA (.368 as a starter to .296 as a reliever) decline.

The biggest improvement for Soroka has been the increase in strikeout percentage. As a starter, Soroka had a 12.4 K%. Out of the bullpen, Soroka has an impressive 37.6 K%. This can be attributed to the increase in velocity in those shorter outings.

Meanwhile, Soroka has changed who he is as a pitcher, with Braves fans knowing him as a sinker specialist in his prime. However, this season, Soroka has significantly reduced his sinker usage and increased the use of his slider and four-seamer.

And for good reason, opponents are hitting below .200 against Soroka’s slider this season via Baseball Savant. The increase in speed has also made his four-seam game much better out of the bullpen. From there, Soroka still needs to work on his walk percentage (15.1% as a reliever) in order to become a top weapon out of the bullpen.

However, this stint in the bullpen may have been punctuated by the performance of Soroka, who recorded 3 innings, 0 earned runs, 1 hit and 7 strikeouts against the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Even if his season statistics don’t inspire many on the surface, Braves fans can rejoice in their 2015 first-round pick because they know his resilience finally shone through. And all it took was a stint in the Chicago bullpen.